There's One in Every Kingdom
by Shain-The Otaku-of Ireland
Summary: A new obstacle has appeared on the horizon and the future of Shin Makoku may hang in the balance. Our heroes must face an age old prophecy head on...but they might need a little unexpected help to do it!
1. Prologue

I do not own Kyo Kara Maoh! or its characters. They belong to Tomo Takabayashi. Only Kim, my OC belongs to me. I make no profit or value for writing this. It is simply done for creative mind's sake.

Woo! First fanfic ever! I wanted to try an interesting idea…the ANTI-OC! That's right. I want a made up character that isn't insanely awesome and actually handles the situation as a real person would, with panic attacks, disbelief and the self doubt that everyone faces at one time or another in a seemingly bizarre scenario. This story will be Romance/Humor in genre for now, as it doesn't have a truly serious nature for quite some time. I wish to make my OC a side character. In a TV series, the introduction of a new non-main character NEVER takes top priority over the MAIN characters originally established, so neither will my character, though I do hope to make the OC a decent add in to the KKM family. And yes, it is listed as a Wolfram/Yuuri romance fic, since I intend to go into the tribulations of their relationship. Feel free to tell me whether or not you think I should simply move this story to reside under the "All Character" setting. Please let me know what you think. Reviews welcome, flames only acceptable if they give worthwhile constructive criticism on what it is they despise and could be improved upon. Also, this is an un-beta chapter, as I have yet to find one. Oops.

_**There's One in Every Kingdom**_

**Prologue**

_83 years ago…_

_It was an unnerving silence. No sound could be heard other than the flickering of the candles, and the sound of crickets chirping outside. The slight shifting of armor seemed more like the clashing of pans in the long corridor. The daintiest step magnified and clapping like thunder in the tense quiet. Just waiting…waiting. At the end of the hallway stood the immense, twin stone doors; the ones that every eye was trained on. A few glanced at the two armor clad guards right outside the formidable entrance, the same question in all their eyes. The guards placed their ears to the doors and were still a moment. After a few tense seconds, they drew away shaking their heads. _

_A piercing wail broke the silence of the night, echoing off the temple walls. It was a high, feeble cry; an infant's cry. The temple maidens and guards visibly relaxed, letting out a breath none of them were aware they had been holding as they had awaited the only sound that would signify a safe delivery. _

"_A boy, milady," The Priestess' soothing voice was soft next to the infant's. She cooed gently to the child before placing him in his mother's trembling arms. The weary woman looked down in awe at her wondrous creation. From his pale and tiny fingernails, to his light dusting of eyebrows and even his fine, rows of eyelashes, he was as perfect as she ever could have hoped. The little boy hiccupped and fell quiet, gazing up with large emerald eyes, sniffling as his mother smiled tiredly down at him. She lifted a shaking hand to caress his porcelain skin and laughed softly as her son tried to gain enough control over his small hands to grasp at her finger._

_"Is he going to be alright? He wasn't supposed to be born this early."_

_The Priestess didn't respond right away, instead opting to wave over a shrine maiden carrying a golden rimmed bowl. Several other maidens padded back and forth across the room tending to the new mother and cleaning up the place between her feet. The mother's forehead was being carefully dabbed at with a linen cloth when the maiden with the heavy bowl finally made it to the center of the room. The liquid in the bowl sloshed and churned, the familiar scent of jasmine perfume filling the air over their heads. _

"_Don't spill a drop, Dieter," The priestess scolded, "It's sacred. You wouldn't want to offend the spirits, would you?" The young maiden shook her head and bowed apologetically as she placed the bowl down at the Priestess' feet. Without raising her head, she back stepped to the edge of the room, eyes transfixed to the floor in reverence._

"_Well? Is my baby alright or not?" The mother raised herself up slightly, ignoring the hands that tired to lay her back down against the pillows. She shifted the child in her arms as she stared at the Miko before her. The weariness of childbirth was beginning to fade, anxiety taking its place. "Please, I have to know." It was never easy for a woman to know her child was premature. In their land, an early birth was a bad omen and usually was followed by the death of the child before it was even old enough to crawl. Since no healer could find answers as to why a child was born early, there was little they could do to help prevent its death soon after. _

_One of the women surrounding the concerned mother reached out and pushed aside the curls plastered to her forehead with sweat. She jerked her head away, flashing a small smile at the maiden and shaking her head as she turned back to the honored Temple woman. _

_The Priestess summoned forth another woman from the corner of the room. The woman approached on soft footsteps and came to stand at the Priestess' side. In her outstretched palms rested a small, brass cup with griffon clawed feet. Two fragrant sticks pointed up out of the cup. The priestess took one in each hand and placed the tips to her lips, blowing gently. When she pulled away, the tips were lit, thin wisps of smoke trailing into the air and smelling strongly of Ginseng and ginger. She handed them over to two of the maidens at the mother's side and leaned forward to inspect the newborn babe. The baby gurgled and kicked his feet lively as his swaddling was unwrapped. The priestess rolled him over in his mother's arm, a smile quirking her lips slightly as he tried to burrow into the ringlets that draped across his mother's shoulders. She ran a long fragile finger down his back, tracing the curves of his spine and following the path of his vertebrates. She flipped him back over and pressed gently on his small, rounded belly. The baby giggled and waved his arms as her own goldenrod tresses fell around him like a curtain. Catching one of the flailing hands, she smoothed the pads of her fingers over the lines in his palm, and then moved unto his other hand. She tapped every finger; she prodded every toe. After examining the soles of his feet, she stood up and looked at the golden haired woman calmly. _

"_The child will be fine, "She murmured, "He has a fighting spirit in him. I would almost say he has the…__**fire**__ of life. " She smiled knowingly, ignoring the confused expressions on a few maidens' faces. The mother sighed and slumped back into the pillows. Relieved she glanced back down at her son and nuzzled her face in the soft golden curls that adorned his head. She breathed in deeply and relished the scent of her precious child. _

_A knock startle the small group of women out of their peaceful calm. They turned to the large doors as they creaked open and the head of a guard poked through. "Pardon me, my Liege," He bowed to the floor, gesturing with his head towards the woman and child resting on the center dais table, "but your sons are getting rather persistent on entering." He gave a sheepish grin at the end. To think he would have such difficult containing two mere boys. _

_The woman on the table laughed joyfully and nodded. The guard's head vanished through the door, only for it to open wider and let in two boys. The older of the two stormed forward, his dark hair pulled back tightly at the nape of his neck and a frown etched across his face. He seemed to have gone to the trouble of getting dressed to be here, despite the late hour of night. His brother followed less hurriedly behind him, smiling warmly at his mother. His hair was mussed slightly from sleep, though it seemed that his brother may have scuffled with him in the hall to straighten it, for the front left side was smoothed down and parted away from his face. His warm brown eyes fell upon the bundle in his mother's arm and he quicken his pace a little, almost skipping past his elder at the last second and earning quite the glare for it. _

"_Mother." Both boys bowed in greeting and then leaned forward to hug their mother awkwardly around the wriggling infant she held. She took in their grinning faces happily, (well one of them was grinning), but then frowned, her eyes scanning the door behind them. "Where's-"_

"_His __**Lordship**__ could not make it."Her eldest son interrupted stiffly, "he had dire matters with the warring northern border to attend to." _

_His mother sighed and shook her head in amusement. Her husband was always busy these days. The one set back to him gaining her rule while she was with child, was that he would be required to handle every single dispute that broke out in her absence, no matter how late at night or early in the morning it may be. _

_She adjusted the child in her arms once more as she felt him nuzzling at her breast. Shifting slightly, she allowed one of the temple maidens to pulled down the side of her dress and raise the baby up to his mother for his first meal. "Mother!" Her eldest looked away in embarrassment, his frown seeming to slip further into place. _

"_You know, if you keep frowning like that, you're bound to get wrinkles on that handsome face." His frown only seemed to deepen at that comment. His mother couldn't help but chuckle, "Just like your father."_

_Her eldest merely snorted at her, his expression softening a bit as he risked another glance at the tiny newborn. The baby was fed in relative silence, suckling being the only sound heard until the baby fell asleep, and his mother covered herself once more._

_Her middle child peered down at the baby, "This is our new brother, mother." It was more of an awe-struck statement than a question. She nodded her head the slightest bit at him and watched as he reached down to play with the gold tufts of hair on the newborn's tiny head. "He sure is puny," her oldest mumbled, receiving an elbow to the ribs from his brother and a tsk from his mother. He "hmphed" at them with the slightest ghost of his own smile and turned his stern eyes on the Priestess at the foot of the table. She titled her chin towards him in recognition and kneeled down to lift the heavy bowl she had had the maiden place before her, raising it up with surprising ease with her small delicate hands. She plucked one of the lighted incense from earlier out of her maiden's hand and waved it in graceful arcs of the infants head, the golden bowl balanced perfectly on one hand. "Ginseng for the soft at heart," She whispered. As the words left her lips, quiet whispers filled the air. They spoke in a strange, indiscernible language. The priestess seemed unfazed by this and continued on. Replacing the stick in the first woman's hand and switching to the other incense, she repeated the gesture again. The smoke swirled and danced in the dim candle light, entrancing the small babe as he gazed up sleepily, his nap cut short, "Ginger for the fiercest spirit" more hushed whispers. She set that incense back also and dipped on hand into the bowl. With the barest of touches, she ran her thumb over the child's forehead and down the tip of his nose. She placed her palm flat out on his belly and ever so slowly lifted it away, starting with the edge of her palm and ending with the very tips of her fingers until she was no longer touching the child. "And Jasmine for the sweetest and most beautiful of life's treasures" the strange uttering seemed more like hisses in the fire lit room. _

_The Priestess dipped her hand once more into the oil and dripped it over the baby and mother together. She raised the bowl high into the air over her head as the maidens back away from the dais to from a circle around the outside of the room, chins tucked to their chests and hands clasped together. _

"_Let it be known," The priestess called out loudly, "that this babe has been received into the world under the watchful eye of Shinou. Sanctified by me, the Oracle herself, and given to his mother's bosom, I welcome in this new life in the name of Shin Makoku, as Prin-"_

"_LADY ONDINE!" _

_The doors flew open and banged loudly against the walls. The child began to yowl loudly in fear at the sudden noise, causing his mother to draw him close and scowl disapprovingly at the figure that had entered. Her frown, however, was quickly replaced with shock at seeing a young girl, as young in appearance as the Priestess herself, fast approaching, robes of lavender billowing wildly behind her._

_The young girl scurried towards them and stopped just short of the Priestess herself. In her arms she clutched a rather aged and tattered scroll. The Priestess quirked an eyebrow at her and set the bowl down; silently giving her permission to speak. _

"_Lady Ondine, you must look at this. It concerns the child!" At this the woman and her sons stiffen visibly, the baby being shelter more protectively in his mother's embrace. "What is it? What is wrong with my brother?" The middle child curled over his baby brother, his fearful gaze matched only by the anger in his older brother's stare. _

_The head priestess and Oracle straighten to her full stature. She threw out a commanding hand to the temple maidens. "All of you leave us. And Shinou help the poor soul who should try to listen in where their prying ears are not welcome!" With that, the maidens scurried out in timid whispers and scolding hushes. _

_Lady Ondine accepted the scroll from the young girl and laid it out at the edge of the table. The boys gasped as the unroll parchment reveal an intricate star map, covered in miniscule runes and symbols. Lady Ondine bowed her lithe frame over the worn parchment, as aged and frayed at the edges as she was young and spry in face and body. With the slightest tap of her finger, the map began to shift and alter on the scroll, like waves in water, circling and spinning in sporadic patterns. The constellations spun and intertwined in an assortment of webs and spirals. The planets switched through several different epicycles, almost like indecisive dance partners or fickle lovers. Two particular worlds circled each other in an endless waltz, the only two to never leave their partner's side. The girl traced a certain path in the runes, murmuring in hushed tones to the Oracle, the same hushed language as before. All the while, Lady Ondine looked on, her brows knitted into a slight frown of concentration. _

_Suddenly, the map stopped, the stars aligning themselves and stilling as though they had never moved. The parchment was just a mere piece of paper again. _

"_Well Lady Ondine? Lady Ulrike? What does it say?" The golden haired beauty was all but shouting, her voice breaking in trepidation. _

_It was Lady Ulrike that spoke._

_Slowly, the childlike Priestess looked up into the eyes of her ruler. "It would seem," She began, "that the fates have quite a plan in store for us all, Heika"…_

_**TO BE CONTINUED…**_


	2. Chapter 1: If Looks Could Kill

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series.

Go easy on me. I wrote quite a bit of this while my hot, drunken roommate wandered around me topless and spouting "I love you"s. I was a tad distracted.

Thanks for the reviews! I'm really excited about this story. For reference the rest of this story takes place around the end of season three, roughly between 83 and 85 years after the prophecy. Yuuri is around 17yrs old and Wolfram around 84-85 yrs old. Sorry if the math doesn't quite add up, but I was a little unsure about the time length during the series itself. Either way, it has been at least four years since Yuuri accidently proposed.

Chapter One

If Looks Could Kill,

"Though it pains me that it has come to this, we have no other choice."

Yuuri glanced at the solemn faces around him. "I know our loses have been great. I know we are running on the very last of our strength. But I also know we have the vitality, spirit and determination to win this"

Murmurs of awe and admiration rang out in agreement.

The great demon king stood over his squadron, assessing the newest decrease in able- bodied individuals. It had not been a successful battle tactic they had used in the previous round. With a heavy sigh, the Maoh took in the weary faces of his loyal troops.

"Let's go over the plan. When the enemy approaches, alpha team, we'll flank left. Beta team, you will break off into two groups and attack from the right and front lines. And Greta," Yuuri placed a comforting hand on his daughter's shoulder, "you will make the ultimate sacrifice for our victory." He paused and gave her a gentle squeeze on the shoulder. I want you in the line of fire. Taking you down will provide the opening we need. Do you think you can do that?"

The young red head nodded, resigned to her fate. "Be strong, Greta. You need to be strong." He crouched down and placed his hands on her shoulders. "You make me proud to be your father. I am so sorry it had to come to this." He stood up to face his comrades. "Does everyone know what to do?"

More nods from the group. "Great. Now I know this has been hard on all of us. They outnumber us and outmatch our skill for sure, but with this strategy, we will surely _**crush them**__!_ Ready?...GO!"

The group scattered and spread out. With several apron covered men and women, a dark haired boy in glasses darted left to avoid the oncoming uniformed wave heading their way. As the soldiers drew closer, the second group of servants shot out from behind the first and split two ways.

Yuuri, leading alpha team, swerved to the left to avoid the soldier's fast approach. He could see his main opponent perfectly. A head of raging sunlight for hair, his uniform was caked with mud and his boots no longer the finely polished display they usually were. His glare was fixed intensely on the demon king, his lips pulled into a fine pout.

The golden haired leader of soldiers charged forward with only the demon king in mind, but a flash of deep red caught his eye at the last second. He stared in shock as his daughter broke free from her ranks and surged forth to meet him in battle. "Here I come, Papa Wolf!"

Wolfram sighed, "Greta, you little fool. Did you really think you had what it takes to face me?" With that, he leaped into the air. Grasping Greta by the shoulder, he used his full weight to force her sideways into the ground, rolling off her effortlessly and brushing himself off. He looked down at his fallen child. That was his mistake.

"Yargh!"

Wolfram looked up just in time to see Yuuri heading straight at him, with little time to escape. "Damn" he cursed under his breath. Glancing to the around, he found his men blocked on all sides from him by the opposing forces. "Damn, damn, damn, damn!" He made a last ditch effort to turn and run, but that became all the opening Yuuri needed. With a mighty cry he tackled Wolfram into the bushes, scattering leaves and flower petals to the wind.

The rest of the group paused and watched in amusement as the pair scuffled and rolled about the courtyard's garden. Between the snarling blonde and grunting double black, they had quite a show to behold. A thorn bush was crunched with a pair of yelps and curses. The onlookers flinched; Lady Celia was not going to be happy when she saw this mess.

Wolfram managed to roll himself on top, but when he attempted to pin his captive's hands, Yuuri lashed out and ripped the red handkerchief out of the neck of his jacket.

"I win!"

"No you don't!" Wolfram yelled, "you wimp, you still need to get the flag to your side!" Yuuri smiled up at him in his usual goofy way.

"But Wolf, we _**are**_on my side."

"…WHAT?"

Sure enough, as the third prince looked about him, the particular flower patch they were currently sprawled in was indeed on other side of the chalk lined grass.

The maids and servants cheered enthusiastically while Wolfram's soldiers calmly brushed themselves off and waited to be dismissed by their commanding officer. Those already been dubbed "Out" in the previous rounds sat around the edges of the courtyard applauding and exchanging monetary wins and losses. A certain Daikenja in particular was raking in quite large sum money.

Murata adjusted his glasses and sent the maids off giggling with a wink. The sage smirked at the royal couple. "That's quite the compromising position you've put yourself in, Lord Bielefeld." He chuckled at the indignant squawk the young prince let out as he hastily stood up.

Wolfram jumped away from Yuuri quickly. He hadn't meant to _straddle him!_ He ignored Yuuri's questioning gaze. Of course the idiot wouldn't understand the implications of such a position. His mind was still stuck in the innocence of a child's.

With a huff, Wolfram headed towards his soldiers and assumed a salute. "You are dismissed men, good job out there." The salute was instantly returned in full with a resounding, "Yes Sir Von Bielefeld" and the troops were gone.

"Wolf" The closeness of Yuuri's voice caused him to stiffen up. It took all of Wolfram's willpower not to turn around. He almost jumped when a hand was placed against his back. "You have thorns in your jacket," warm air puffed against Wolfram's ear and he had to strain to keep his knees from buckling.

"In fact" Yuuri continued, "You have thorns everywhere." He grasped the blond by the shoulders and turned him around. Oblivious to the ever changing shades of red blooming across the other's face, he proceeded to inspect him from head to toe. His hands made clumsy work of dislodging as many of the protrusions as possible, succeeding in only fraying the uniform just a little. When he reached to take care of the few clinging to a slender hip, Yuuri found his hands slapped away quite suddenly.

An angry pout was fixed firmly over Wolfram's face, although, if Yuuri looked closer, he could see the glare didn't reach the other's eyes. In fact, Wolfram was avoiding his eyes completely.

"Wimp" Wolfram reached up and made a show of smoothing out the wrinkles in Yuuri's shirt. He missed the days when he didn't have to look up to stare into Yuuri's eyes; it got annoying being at eye level with his neck. "You're covered in them too, see?" He flicked his wrist forward like a magician presented a card and held one of the planty spikes, a former resident of the collar of Yuuri's shirt. He plucked out a few more. "Learn to take care of yourself for once. What good is a King full of holes?" A snicker met his ears and he felt himself smile.

"Well excuse me for—Wolf, You're bleeding!"

"Where" Wolfram inspected his arms and hands; no damage there.

"On your cheek" Yuuri brushed a stray lock of gold out of the way to better see the scrape adorning the noble's face. He ran his fingers along the bottom of it and leaned into the gauge how deep it was. "Right here. One must have scratched you, Wolf…Wolf?"

Once again, Wolfram was the color of a tomato. He muttered something about training and made to pull away.

"Hang on" Yuuri's grip was firm on his arm. "Let me at least take care of it first." He reached for the cut again, but was intercepted by a manicured hand.

"No"

"But, Wolfram…"

"I said N—"

"DADDY!"

They both turned around at the youthful cry just in time for a blur of red to collide with Yuuri's side. Greta! Wolfram had forgotten she was there. By the looks of it, both she and Murata had decided to stick around for their little display.

The Sage had a smug grin on his face, his eyes concealed by the glare on his glasses. '_Great_' Wolfram thought. '_Just what I needed; more gossip for the stupid Love Lottery_.' He focused back on his daughter, who was now tugging determinedly on her father's arm.

"Papa Yuuri, you promised come see the new teddy (A/N: or is it a piggy? XD) Uncle Gwendal made me. Please? It's only fair; I helped you win the game!" She gave the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster.

"But, Wolfram"

"Papa Wolf _already_ saw my teddy. You're the only one who hasn't seen it. Please, Papa Yuuri. Pretty, pretty please, please, please?"

Yuuri tore his eyes away from the wide teary expression of his daughter. It was too much. '_Where had she learned to act so cute and innocent_?' (A/N: gee, Yuuri, I wonder!). He gave his trademark sheepish grin to Wolfram and scratched the back of his head with his Greta-free arm. "I'm sorry Wolf. She really wants me to go right now" He gestured to the redheaded princess. "Make sure you have Gisela heal that cut for you."

The small girl besides him let out a gasp. "Papa Wolf, you got a cut?" She untangled herself from the double black and latched onto her other father's waist. "You got hurt, Papa." She stretched out a hand and patted the scrape gently.

"It's just a little nick."

"And he's going to Gisela right now." Yuuri stared his fiancé down with his own grade of stubbornness. Just to add to the stance, he crossed his arms over his chest and glared just like Wolfram was doing now.

Greta looked back and forth between her parents, her brow wrinkled in consideration and worry. She turned back to Wolfram. "I go with you?"

Wolfram's eyes soften and he kneeled down to pat her head affectionately. "That won't be necessary, Greta. You go with Yuuri like you wanted. Besides," he stood up and stretched a bit "demons can heal small little marks like this easily on their own. It's all a part of being _Demons_." He stressed the last word with a pointed look in Yuuri's direction that said, '_if you weren't such a wimp, you might know that'_.

Murata let out a muffled noise that sounded suspiciously like a laugh.

"eheheheh…" Now that he thought about it, Yuuri might have recalled a lesson or two with Gunter his first year here all about such abilities. Then again, he had seen firsthand what was considered an injury and what "just a scratch" was. Why had he gotten so worked up over such a small thing then? "Well, if you are sure Wolfram. I guess I'll let you go train like you wanted."

Wolfram bristled. _'You'll __**let**__ me?"_ He restrained the urge to roast the boy-king alive and gave Greta one more pat on the head. "I'll take my leave then."

"Wait! I almost forgot, you might still have some thorns on you. We never checked the back." Yuuri rushed forward and spun Wolfram away from him to look at his back.

"Yuuri!" Wolfram hissed, turning back around to grip him by the front of his shirt. "I am perfectly capable of checking myself." He growled.

Yuuri put his hands up in an abating fashion and smiled nervously. "I just thought I'd help, Wolf. No need to get so bent out of shape. What's the big deal? Why can't I check it out for you?"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO 'CHECK OUT' MY BACKSIDE," Wolfram shouted. "And in _Public_ no less!"

Somewhere, Gwendal's eye had taken up an unusual twitch and Gunter collapsed from blood loss through the nose…

"Wha…" Yuuri blinked.

"Whoo-hoo!" Murata catcalled while Greta giggled behind her hands. "Seventeen years old and the Maou finally heats things up his Fiancé. Wait to go, Your Majesty!"

Yuuri instantly blanched. "Wha—Whoa, whoa, WHOA!" Yuuri jumped back and flailed his around about in the air in a very Gunter-like fashion. "You've got it all wrong, Murata! Come on, that's not even funny! We're both boys for crying out loud! Why doesn't anyone get that? We're—where are you going, Wolfram?"

A very anger blond was stomping away in the opposite direction, his hands stiff and balled at his sides. "TO TRAIN!"

"Wolfram." Yuuri called out to him. "Hey Wolfram, wait. Hey!"

But Wolfram had already turned a corner and out of the courtyard.

"I don't get it. What'd I do this time?" Yuuri turned to Greta. She shrugged her shoulders, the young girl just as much confused by her temperamental father. "Murata?"

The sage was already walking away with his hands tucked behind his head in a carefree manner. "If you have to ask, Shibuya, then you'll never know," he sang with a wave of his hand.

Yuuri frowned one more time in the direction Wolfram had taken and then turned back to Greta. "Come on, Greta" he took her small hand in hers, "I guess we'll go see that teddy you were talking about." With that they headed off towards Greta's room. "Wait a second," Yuuri paused, "Wolfram already did his training today before we played _Schal der Königsfamilie(1)_" he glanced over his shoulder at the spot Wolfram had once been standing.

"Where could he be going then?"

**thisisaline**

"Stupid…lousy…of all the…" Wolfram stormed through the hallways in dark cloud of emotion. "Thinks he can…as if…idiotic…inconsiderate…aaarrrhhhHHHHHGGGGG _WIMP_!"

A few passing maids darted back into the room they were cleaning and peeked cautiously out at him. The only ones brave enough to find joy and gossip when Wolfram was this ticked off were the managers of the Love Lotto itself, Doria, Sangria, Lasagna, and Effee. It could only be because they usually routed for his engagement that he was less likely to go after them for it. Everyone else with less familiarity knew better than to make an angry Bielefeld even angrier. The usually brave and fearless guards that defended the inhabitants of Blood Pledge flattened themselves against the wall to avoid becoming noticeable targets of the blonde's wrath. He paid them all no mind as he continued on his angry not-so-inner tirade.

"Damn Wimpy king. Does he have any idea what he does to me?" The blush was returning to Wolfram's face. He could still feel the warmth from Yuuri's hands and the soft brush of the boy breath across his face. He had been so close. Too close. '_This is getting ridiculous_' Wolfram thought. '_I can't make excuses to avoid him forever_.' He turned the corner onto a deserted corridor and leaned against the wall to brood. '_This is not good at all_.'

Things had begun to change for the fire wielder over the years. When Yuuri first dropped into his world, Wolfram had thought nothing of love, and crushes, and, more importantly, needs. No one had ever sparked his interest or made his cheeks grow hot. The handsomest courters of him had never succeeded in making his knees quake or his ears burn red. Yuuri hadn't either…at first. Slowly, Yuuri had weaseled into his heart and into his dreams. That boy's smile had won him over. His innocent kindness and cheerful spirit was enough to make Wolfram's spoiled, selfish façade fall away and leave the lonely, timid child hidden underneath bare and exposed. Of course, his pride and dignity had quickly stepped in to ensure no one outside his closest family and friends saw such fragility. What would the lords and ladies of the court say if they saw what power their naïve ruler had over the once headstrong and sharp-tongued prince? A kind word and a pat on the shoulder, and the blond was putty in his hands.

But it was far worse than that now. What Wolfram would have given to have the prying eyes and ears of the court be his one concern like it had been only a year or two ago. Alas, he had a more disastrous problem brewing now. Yuuri was stirring up …unfamiliar emotions. Urges, wants; waking up in cold sweats and starting the day off with even colder showers (A/N: can they take showers in Shin Makoku?). Once innocent dreams of hand holding and tender words had now become intense fantasies of panting breaths, tangled limbs, and whispered promises of carnal desires so lewd it would make even his mother feel faint.

"This doesn't make any sense" Wolfram muttered, "I was never like this". It was true; Wolfram hadn't pegged himself for someone who would want to fall to the desires of the flesh so eagerly, and before he became engaged to Yuuri, he would have been correct in his assumptions. But as the demon king grew older, his shoulders a broader, and his muscle a toner, feelings Wolfram was not aware he was capable of having awoke and blossomed.

The gentle double black and his justice seeking counterpart, the Maou, were steadily joining and creating one entity. Yuuri's eyes still had the same compassionate and charming quality they always had, but they were through the narrow, more refined eyes of a young man. His hair was growing faster than his liking and foiling his many haircut attempts, forcing him to leave it brushing against the top of his shoulders. Needless to say, the already lengthy list of the King's longing admirers had doubled in the past year alone.

Wolfram hugged himself and curled in towards the wall. "I've never been this" he bit his lip as a shiver went through him, "hormonal." He hated to admit it, but he craved Yuuri. His scent, his voice, his touched, Wolfram wanted it all. It took all the effort he had to keep his shameful secret hidden from anyone, especially Yuuri. Sleeping in the same bed was getting more difficult for him, not that Wolfram was going to give up the opportunity. Not when Yuuri had gradually stopped telling him to sleep in his own room. It was the one right he did get to act upon as the Maou's fiancé and he wasn't about to throw it away on the off chance his body got the best of him in the dead of night.

Still, it was hard to resist the temptation; lying next to him and all. The raven hair spilling across the pillows, the steady rise and fall of a firmed, bare chest; Wolfram almost had a conniption the first time Yuuri started sleeping shirtless. A faint tint was staining Wolfram's cheeks just remembering it. Yuuri was the man of his dreams.

And…he would forever stay that way.

Wolf wasn't a fool, he was well aware of how Yuuri viewed the concept of two males being together. He was raised in a society that struggled for generations to accept it in even small parts of his world. Shin Makoku, and the demon world in general for that matter, had been open to same sex relationships for as long as anyone could remember. Wolfram understood how unrealistic it was for people to assume Yuuri would be able to accustom himself to such ways in only a few years time. But that didn't stop Wolfram from denying it, from trying to change his mind about the matter, about their engagement.

Yuuri had made it clear: they were both boys. They would ever only be friends. Yet, Wolfram had always tried to hang onto a thread of hope. Wolfram clutched himself tighter. "Now who's the idiot?" He whispered.

**thisisaline**

"He~ikaaa! Where are~you?" Gunter sang as he frolicked (A/N: seems like something he would do) through the castle halls. He had a whole new lesson plan for His Majesty, one he had stayed up hours the night before to complete. The Japanese boy was the pinnacle of preciousness. If Gunter would be so brash as to say, Yuuri was his little black kitten of cute. It was up to his trusty advisor to, well, advise. Yes, advise him in every known fact of that he had to offer. Now, if he could just find His Majesty. He hadn't been in the courtyard where he said he would be playing. And he wasn't with Lord Weller. No one could tell him where Lord Wolfram and Greta had gone off to, so he couldn't check for his king with them either.

"HEIKAAAAAAAA!" Gunter wailed, flailing his arms in a flurry of flaky passion. He tore off down the hallway, the servants and guards shaking their heads in amusement.

Now that the Maou was approaching eighteen years of age, it was time for him to receive the education given to every coming of age Mazoku. The king would be briefed on the detailed lessons of courtship and, more importantly, sexual intimacy needed to seal one's marriage on the wedding night. Gunter pinched a nosebleed off before it could get out of hand. To think his beautiful King would have to commit such indecent acts with another! Oh the improper images it brought to mind! Efforts to fight the oncoming nosebleed were rapidly failing. Personally, Gunter thought his pure, sweet Majesty was far too young to be learning such things, but according to Conrad, like humans, half Mazokus were considered adults at the age of eighteen, rather than in their late eighties like full blooded demons.

So technically, Yuuri was perfectly ready (at least physically) for the knowledge of a man. Now that Gunter thought about it, Yuuri would actually be considered older than Wolfram after his birthday arrived. At least, in terms of manhood he'd be older. Gunter smirked as he slowed his pace. Wolfram wouldn't be happy about that. Just one more thing to set off Little Lord Bra—

Gunter quickly jumped back behind the corner he had just turned. Peering around into the adjoining hallway, he found himself looking at the little lord himself. Normally Gunter would continue on by him, muttering about "selfish Loafers" as he went, but something stopped him. Something seemed different today.

Wolfram was leaning against the wall with his arms wrapped around himself. A light blush was covering his cheeks and his eyes were downcast, making his eyelashes graze the smooth skin of his cheekbones. Even someone so devoted to His Majesty like Gunter was couldn't die that seeing the Bishie in such a state was…adorable. Seeing Wolfram looking so fragile and defenseless was uncommon for the advisor. Even he had to admit that the blond boy was cute. If His Majesty was a sweet, black kitten, then Wolfram was a little golden lion cub. Always acting so fierce for one so small, Wolfram thought he could hide the endearing qualities that slipped through his tough mask. It was the little things; the way he pouted when he wasn't quite angry enough to yell, the way his nose crinkled up when he yawned during a particularly tiring meeting with the ten aristocrats, those kinds of things. He could see why Gwendal had been so fond of watching an infant Wolfram with Conrad in their youth. Gunter himself had enjoyed having the small babe bounce merrily on his lap on a number of occasions.

Today, though, Wolfram's display of cute was being overshadowed with a very somber vibe. On closer inspection, Gunter could see sadness veiled behind emerald depths. He could see the way Wolfram's fingers clenched into the sleeves of shirt. It appeared he was having an inner battle with himself and he might have been losing.

Suddenly, Wolfram straightened up and began a stiff walk towards the end of the hallway. Gunter ducked back as the blond passed, thankfully going unnoticed. When Wolfram reached the two forked corridors at the end of the hall, he set off at a quicker pace down the left one.

'_Now why would he be going down that way?'_ His Majesty's lesson forgotten, Gunter slinked down after him. Wolfram must have been quite distraught as he didn't sense the presence of the lavender-haired man. He continued on until he reached one of the guest sitting rooms. Gunter had to hide behind a large vase as Wolfram glanced over his shoulder back the way he came, and slipped into the room.

Curious, Gunter tiptoed up to the door and peeked past the door and into the room.

Wolfram was standing up next to the far wall of the sitting area. The fading sunlight streaking in through the windows shadowed his face and gave the scene a mysterious feel. Running his hand through his hair, he moved forward to a painting of one of the former Maous and gave the right corner three taps. Gunter watched in amazement as the portrait spun on a hinge to face upside down against the wall, revealing a large square hole behind the place it once rested. With relative ease, Wolfram climbed up into the hole and disappeared from view.

As soon as he was sure Wolfram was going to remerge relatively anytime soon, Gunter hurried over to the hole and peered inside. A long narrow stairs case is what greeted his vision. "This is amazing" he breathed, "This passage must have been made in preparation for any attacks on nobles caught off guard. My, what lovely craftsmanship! A portrait that swings up, not out, it's such a marvelous idea. Any enemy soldier would spend hours looking for passageways that opens outward like a door. No one would suspect the portrait to do this. Oh I must alert Gwendal of this right awa—wait, what am I saying?" Gunter shook his head, "I must first see what Wolfram is up to. Wandering a mysterious passageway is dangerous—I mean," He looked around quickly, hoping no one was around to hear his slip up of concern for the Wagamama puu, "I mean…he needs to be found and scolded for not informing Gwendal about his discovery."

Gunter had to hike a leg up to get into the hole. The portrait in this room wasn't as massive as most and was hung high enough off the ground that the hole was more of a window into the passage, rather than a doorway. _'Must be so that armored soldiers couldn't lift themselves up into it to follow the fleeing nobles' _he thought as he grunted and huffed his way up into the hole. Standing up on the steps inside, he brushed off his clothes before turning to back to the opening. He was met with a stone wall. Looking down, the hole was at his feet. '_So, hard to get into for enemies, easy to run through for those inside. Whoever made this was crafty indeed. Now, to find Lord Bielefeld'._

**thisisaline**

He found the young lord at the very top of an exhausting flight of stairs. Gunter was lying on the stairs to properly spy unseen into the room the steps had taken him to. By the looks of it, Wolfram had led him to a small, dusty chamber, complete with only one window. There were no corners, the area wrapping around in circle. '_We're in one of the towers'_ Gunter realized. The room itself was filled with dusty canvases, and worn out boxes and knick-knacks and a single, musty bed. The last one to use this little hideaway must have been a royal trying to protect their useless "valuables".

A very forlorn Wolfram was curled up in the bed among the many overstuffed and dingy pillows. His eyes were fixated on the opposite side of the room, staring but not really taking anything in. He heaved a heavy sigh and mutter, "Stupid Yuuri" under his breath.

Gunter almost forgot he was supposed to be hiding when he heard Wolfram speaking ill of His Majesty. He waited until the urge to reprimand the prince had passed and returned to his surveillance of the Prince's hiding place. So it was His Highness that had the stubborn boy so upset. What could the wonderful Maou have possibly done to him?

Wolfram shifted on the bed, silencing Gunter's thoughts. Rummaging under a pillow, he pulled out a familiar piece of black cloth. '_His Majesty's shirt'_. It was an old one, with a rip at the shoulder from one of the kings many moments of awkward clumsiness in the past. Gunter recalled giving said old clothes to the fire mazoku to burn every time one was ruined and replaced, stating that a cremation was the only honorable way to dispose of a monarch royal clothes, no matter how ragged they had become.

More shifting from the bed; Wolfram had pressed his face into the fabric. Though he still looked a bit sad, it seemed the shirt lifting his spirits slightly. Gunter couldn't help but think that the blond really did look like a lion cub at that moment, nuzzling the cloth and snuggling it on the bed.

The pretense of innocence was quickly lost. Wolfram buried his nose in the shirt and inhaled deeply. A desperate whine was heard and the blond wiggled his hips in agitation. His skin was beginning to flush.

Gunter paled considerably, even as the blood began to drip from his nose. It was time for him to take his leave. Seeing his friend's baby brother in such a state was improper and it was threatening to stain the child-like image Gunter had held of the boy till then. Pressing a hand to his nose, he quietly stood up and descended back down the stairs. The sound of the breathy whimpers escaping from the room behind him caused him to quicken his pace.

**thisisaline**

Gunter hurried along the halls, a silk handkerchief pressed to his nose and his face beet red. He had returned to his quest to find Heika, but his conscience was still giving him grief for what he witnessed moments earlier. Perhaps he shouldn't have followed after the young Mazoku after all.

No. He had done the right thing. Wolfram was depressed and it was someone's job to make sure the boy was alright. He would have tried to ask what the problem was that upset the boy so…but after seeing that…

Gunter knew he shouldn't have been surprised. Wolfram was not a little child anymore (he hadn't been one for quite some time). It was perfectly natural for him to have such needs and wants; it was just that Gunter hadn't wanted to see it firsthand. Now Wolfram would never seem innocent in his eyes again.

And what about His Majesty? If the cherub-faced Wolfram thought so indecently, did that mean Heika had such perverse thoughts as well? Gunter felt faint; going down this train of thought was doing his nosebleed no good at all.

Gunter was troubled. From what he had witnessed up in the tower, it was obvious what Wolfram desired from his king. The question was would he act upon it? Not only would the virginity of their beloved ruler be put in jeopardy, but both he and Wolfram's reputations would also suffer if word got out that they consummated their relationship before marriage…not that Gunter cared about Wolfram's reputation. Of course not, he was only concerned for His Majesty…right…no concern for the other what so ever.

Clearly the two could not continue sharing a room, let alone a bed. He would get Gwendal to separate them right away—but wait! He couldn't do that; he would have to tell him why they must be separated and that would mean telling him what he saw just now. Not only would Gunter be buried alive for spying on Gwendal's baby brother in such a…delicate state, but Gwendal was sure to go after His Majesty as well. The earth demon was well known to be quite protective of his siblings, especially one as cute as his youngest brother. If Wolfram was "growing up" so to speak, then Gwendal would no doubt make the same assumptions about Heika; that he too thought of such things and would thus conclude that Heika was a threat to his brother's purity. No, he couldn't go to Gwendal about this.

He had only one choice…to forget this day whole mess had ever happened. Instead, he would teach His Majesty the many consequences and dangers of physical intimacy. Not only would His Majesty receive the glorious lesson Gunter had created, but this way, even if Wolfram did act on his urges, His Majesty would be too wary of the results to consent. And he highly doubted that Wolfram would force him in to it; the very idea that Wolfram would overpower the incredible magnificence that is His Majesty was laughable.

"Gunter"

Why speaking the Magnificence himself.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter was all sparkles and rose petals as Yuuri approached him, Greta in tow. "I have been looking for you all afternoon! We can finally begin your courtship lessons!"

Yuuri sweatdropped (A/N: what anime fanfiction is complete without a sweatdrop insertion?). "Eh, that's…great Gunter. Really it is. But…I think we will be having dinner soon". As if right on cue, Doria passed them in the hall to remind them that dinner would be shortly before heading off to inform the others.

Had the day really passed that quickly already? Streams of tears ran down Gunter's face as he sobbed into his sleeve. "Oh forgive me Your Majesty! To have completely neglected my duties as your teacher until now, oh how dastardly of me!"

Greta giggled while Yuuri backed away laughing nervously. "I'm sure we can have a rain check on that lesson, Gunter. Don't feel bad." He motioned Greta to follow him towards the dining room when he stopped. "Hey Gunter, I don't supposed you've seen Wolfram, have you?"

The crying stopped immediately; Gunter having gone slightly pale. "W-why no Heika…I haven't. Perhaps he is already at dinner. Yes I'm sure that's it. Let's join him, shall we?" He placed his hands on Yuuri's shoulders and began to steer him and Greta forward.

As they walked along the hall, Gunter thought's turned to Wolfram again and the sad state he had been in. "I'm surprised you are looking for Lord Bielefeld, Heika. Normally you are either running from his wrath or already with him" he looked at Yuuri out of the corner of his eye, "Did you two get into a fight, by any chance?"

Yuuri sighed, "I'm not sure really. We were having a great time until Murata decided to open his big mouth."

"Hm, you're Majesty? What did he say?"

"He made some stupid comment about me trying to" Yuuri blushed, "to feel Wolfram up" he missed the stumble in Gunter's steps at that. "I mean, how could he say such a thing?" Yuuri continued, "I was just trying to get the thorns out of his uniform. We're friends for goodness sake. _Just_ friends". He crossed his arms and nodded, seeming to think this explanation clear up the whole business. "Anyway, I set Murata straight so I don't understand what else could be bothering Wolfram."

"I see, Heika." 'Ah' thought Gunter, 'so that's what is vexing the boy'. It was understandable. To have Heika so vehemently deny wanting to touch him, when that was so clearly what Wolfram wanted to do himself, of course he would take offense. But Heika did have a right to decide who he would and would not have feelings for, so Wolfram really shouldn't take it out on His Majesty. Heika wasn't from their world. It was wrong for those of the same gender to love each other in that manner and, while Gunter couldn't see what was so taboo about such romances, it was natural for their king to go by what he had been raised to believe. "Well, you know how Lord Bielefeld gets sometimes. He was probably just having one of his moods. I'm sure he will get over it soon and all will be well." With that, Gunter ushered them all down to dinner.

**thisisaline**

Conrad glanced around him; to say the atmosphere was tense would be the understatement of the year. The dining room was unusually silent and not the typical comfortable silence that normally surrounded their meals. The maids had excused themselves to the kitchen under the pretense of preparing dessert, but Conrad suspected they were just as bothered by the uncomfortable vibe that the room was giving off and had opted to spend their time away from it until the feeling subsided.

It was hard to say who was the most out of sorts. Wolfram was picking at his food, not really eating anything so much as pushing around the plate, his expression unreadable. Yuuri was stealing glances at Wolfram every few seconds, so absorbed in whatever it was he was trying to see on the other that he kept missing his mouth with his fork. Then there was Gunter, who seemed dead set on _not_ looking at either of them. Whenever the advisor did, he would flush deeply and his hands would shake enough that the food fell right off the fork. Murata, who had decided to stay and eat with them instead of going back to the temple, was beginning to unsettle everyone with his smile. He knew something, that was for sure, and Conrad would bet anything it had to do with why Yuuri and the rest were acting the way they were.

There were some who weren't particularly affected by the hanging shadow in the air. Anissina was casually sipping her wine as though dinner was like this every day and Greta was happily exclaiming to Yuuri that she had eaten all her vegetables and therefore could have dessert, as promised, while Yuuri gave her a distracted smile, his eyes still fixed on Wolfram. Gwendal was frowning, but then again, that was the norm for the dour man. There was no need to worry about Celi; the buxom mother of three had recently left for one of her Free Love cruises and wouldn't be back for two more weeks. She probably would have involved Anissina and the maids in a bizarre plot to fix whatever was wrong if she had been here anyway, and that was something Conrad would like to avoid. So it was for the best that she wasn't present.

Yuuri was now facing Wolfram directly, Conrad observed. It looked like his godson wanted to say something but hadn't figured out just what that something was yet. There was a wrinkle in his brow strangely reminiscent of Gwendal and one side of his mouth was turned down. He raised his hand several times and lowered it as though thinking better of the gesture. Wolfram finally caught the movement to the side of him and, with much reluctance, turned to face Yuuri. Now having the audience he apparently sought, Yuuri was about to speak when Wolfram stood up and announced he would be retiring early to bed. With a nod of acceptance from Gwendal, Wolfram bowed and left the room, petted Greta's head and wishing everyone good night.

Conrad sighed at the dejected and confused expression of Yuuri's face. It would seem that Yuuri apology (as he was now sure it was a fight that had transpired between the two) would have to wait until tomorrow.

**thisisaline**

_ Water; so much water. Gallons of it, churning and tossing to and fro. The light was getting dimmer and dimmer until it vanished from view completely. Such roaring noise. Too much. Stop. Make it stop. Which way was up, which was down? A hand, reaching, reaching out, grasping at nothing. That feeling again; was it sinking or floating? There's nothing now; darkness seeped in. _

In the quiet of the Temple of the Great One's courtyard, the watered bubbled, glowed and pushed up a small limp form in the stone and ancient fountain…

* * *

And there you have it! Chapter one is up.

What do you all think? Love it, hate it? Tell me, I'm a curious person. It was long effort to get this done as my laptop had died on me (R.I.P. a moment of silence if you will) and not only did I have to wait to replace it, I had to wait for someone to take the motherboard and hard drive of my old laptop to burn all the files off it first. I've learned my lesson: always back things up to a disc. *nods as "the more you know" plays in the background*

Scarf of the royals. A little game I made up inspired by the game I saw the Native American children play in Little Big Man where they chase someone carrying a buffalo skin. I just took off with my own thoughts from there. I might go into an explanation of what the game is representing in later chapters.

You know, it occurred to me after the prologue was submitted that the guards at the temple are all girls. XP Well, let's assume that the male guards standing attention outside of the room Celi delivered in were her guards from the castle that brought her to the temple when she went into labor. Assumptions are the loopholes of the lazy! Yay lazy! Also, I can't remember much about Wolfram's father. Is he dead in the serious or just not around since he and Celi separated? Someone told me he died before Wolf was born but I question the accuracy. Help a writer out?

R and R please. I appreciate your time.


	3. Chapter 2: A Gift Horse in the Mouth

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series.

I am so thankful that all of you liked the first chapter! You have no idea how happy that makes my muse. Seriously, since the sex change, she's been a prissy little thing, and it is increasingly hard to give her a compliment without her snatching an insult out of it. So you have made her happy, which means she leaves me alone for weeks of undisturbed rest.

Well now the fun begins! I wonder how everyone will take to my OC. I hope I have designed a well structured, spunky little twit for you all. It's so hard to find a good self-invented character that people actually keep realistic (although I have read several good fics on this site where I have found marvelous writers and their OC's. You know who you are.) So I invented this little OC out of boredom and sugar high. Now on with the show!

Chapter Two

A Gift Horse in the Mouth

By the time Yuuri entered his room, there was already a steadily breathing lump under the covers on Wolfram's side of the bed. Yuuri sighed; he had really hoped he could have at least said good night to the boy; if only to end the evening on a slightly positive note. Now it seemed he wouldn't even get that. Venturing towards the foot of the bed, he coughed into his fist and waited.

The blanket covered lump remained still.

Gesturing questioningly towards the ceiling, Yuuri went to put on his pajamas, which he couldn't help but notice had been thrown to the floor in a rumpled heap. He let out a small chuckle at that. The armoire doors were flung open in the corner with a few shirts and pants strewn out of it like some fabric spew from an ornate, wooden monster. So Wolfram actually went looking for the pajamas to do that, did he? The fact alone that Wolf hadn't set fire to them was a good sign in Yuuri's eyes.

Buttoning up his now wrinkled night shirt, Yuuri cast another glance at bed and let out a louder, more forceful cough and patiently waited.

The lump moveth not. Yuuri stood over his own side of the bed and tugged the covers back a little. Jostling the mattress with his knee as he climbed in, he coughed again, even louder. He watched in disappointment as Wolfram did nothing more than nuzzle further into his pillow.

Switching to obnoxious throat clearing yielded the same results. Yuuri was getting more than a little annoyed. He placed both hands firmly on the bed and jerked back and forth. Wolfram seemed to not register the makeshift tremor in the slightest.

'_This would be so much easier if Greta were here_,' thought the Maou. It was true, Wolfram knew as well as anyone how much Greta weighed he happiness on the happiness of her two fathers. For the sake of the little princess, Wolfram would willingly talk out his frustrations with Yuuri, rather than the current silent treatment he was subjecting the double black to. Unfortunately, Greta wouldn't be sleeping in their room tonight. She had insisted on Yuuri reading a story in her room so that her newest teddy from Gwendal (Mr. Big Pig, she called him) could have a pleasant first night in his new home, surrounding by all the other misleading stuffed animals. Another questionable, women empowering tale written by the castle's resident inventor, and the cherub faced child was out like a light. So it had been with a growing fear that Yuuri had returned to his bedroom alone and without his "Wolfram deflector". And now, he was being ignored of all things!

"Wolf"

"…"

Yuuri grabbed the blonde's shoulder and shook it a bit. "Wolfram"

Wolfram muttered a bit and swatted the hand away. "nnghmph"

A frown to rival Gwendal's was beginning to form across the current maou's brow. "Wolfram, you can't honestly expect me to believe that you could possibly sleep through all this. I can't even blink on most nights without you yelling at me to be quiet!" He pulled the covers back fully and shook the blond more roughly. ".—AH!"

Yuuri found himself with a face full of aristocratic fist and a quick introduction to the floor as Wolfram rolled onto his back with a atrocious snore and delivered a powerful smack to the double black's nose.

"Ow…"

"Mmmmmm"

…well _that_ sure sounded like a satisfied hum if he ever heard it. With a grunt, Yuuri hefted himself back onto the bed with a hand rubbing his face. Sure enough, there was his so called friend curled up quite comfortably with a rather prominent smirk on his face. "So you _were_ awake all along!"

"And I'm going to stay awake as it appears someone is set on making a racket" One emerald orb peeked out from beneath golden curls and lashes and settled on Yuuri with drowsy ill intent. "Now, Good night, Wimp" He rolled over yet again and viciously yanked the blankets back over his head with a very audible "humph".

Yuuri rolled his eyes. "Come on, Wolfram. Talk to me; tell me what's up." He curled over the prone lump and poked it in the side. "I know you're mad at me, so just come out and say what I did wrong this time so I'll know what to apologize for." He tugged at the blankets, but Wolfram held on tight from within. The blonde prince was beginning to look like a royal cocoon.

"Just go to sleep and leave me alone."

"But Wolf" Yuuri pleaded.

"_Goodnight_, Yuuri."

"Just listen to me for a second"

"I said goodnight"

"Wolfram, I'm sorry-"

Yuuri was tumbling to the floor before he could finish as the Wolfram cocoon burst forth. Yelping, he dodged to the left as a fireball shot past his ear. "…W-wolfram?"

Wolfram stood before him on the bed with a murderous aura exuding off him. One hand was still outstretched in front of him, smoke trailing upwards towards the ceiling. "WIMP!" He hurled another fireball at Yuuri, quickly followed by a barrage of pillows.

"Yipe!" Yuuri ducked the flames, only to be smacked upside the head with an ornamental throw pillow, a recent gift of Celi from one of her trips. "Ow. Hey, ack! Phbbt" the next hit left him with a mouthful of down feathers. "Knock it off. Ow!" A vase whizzed past his head and burst against the wall. It seemed Wolfram had taken to throwing whatever was in reach. Yuuri winced as an ornate mirror went flying and landed with a crash; Celi had gotten them that too.

"Wolfram, please!"

"SHUT UP!" Wolfram leapt off the bed and stormed to the door.

Yuuri headed Wolfram off and blocked the exit. "You're upset, just tell me why."

Wolfram shoved Yuuri aside and made to open the doors, but Yuuri slammed his hands over Wolfram's and held them closed. "Look, I'm sorry. Okay? Can't you forgive me? At least tell me what I did wrong."

"STOP IT!" Wolfram pushed him back and fixed him with an icy stare. "Just stop it, Yuuri."

"Wolfram…" Yuuri moved to touch him, but Wolfram jerked away.

"You…" Yuuri had to strain to hear Wolfram when he next spoke. "You just don't get it, Yuuri. You just don't" he looked unusually small, standing there in that ridiculous, pink nightgown. From what Yuuri could see, he was digging his nails into his fists.

"Wolfram, whatever I did, I'm sorry. I really am."

"What does it matter?"

"…What…?"

Wolfram's head was bowed, but Yuuri could tell whatever he was thinking, it probably showed on his face. "I said, 'what does it matter'? It doesn't change anything" His voice was raising with each word. "Your 'sorry' doesn't mean much." He raised his head and looked Yuuri dead in the eyes, his emerald orbs hard. "I mean, how can it, when—"

SLAM!

"Heika, Lord von Bielefeld!"

Yuuri and Wolfram turned to find a soldier standing in the doorway, panting heavily. Wolfram recognized him as one of Conrad's.

"What is it?"

"Your presence is needed immediately. A body was found in the Temple fountain!" With that, the soldier left to wait outside for them to change.

Exchanging a glance, the two nodded and rushed to don their clothes.

As they ran down the hall with the Soldier leading the way, Wolfram risked a peak at Yuuri out of the corner of his eye. _'You'll never get it Yuuri. Apologies don't mean anything. Even if you say you're sorry, you're just going to continue like this. As long as you don't love me, you'll continue to say sorry…and I don't have time for words you give away without thought anymore'._

**thisisaline**

"So am I to understand" Yuuri began as they neared the Temple entrance, "that not only was a body found floating faced own in the Temple Fountain, but…it _survived_?"

"Would you have preferred it hadn't, Wimp?"

"…eh…" Yuuri blanched at the idea of trying to fish out a clammy corpse from the water. "…you're right, never mind."

Conrad attempted a smile despite the situation, "Heika, you should let us go before you to inspect the arrival. It could be dangerous for you if we don't know what we are dealing with." Behind him, Gunter wailed at the thought of anything harmful befalling his precious Maou. Gwendal merely nodded in agreement; it would not due to have their airheaded, well meaning king bursting in on a dangerous situation. For that matter… "Perhaps Wolfram should wait with him as well"

"What?"

Their horses stopped in front of the large Temple doors. The shrine maidens and guards out front yelped and jumped at the loud outcry. Gwendal pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wolfram, it would be ludicrous to let you.."

"—to let You…ri stand unguarded while we interpret the level of precaution needed for our visitor" Conrad cut in, sending a glance at his older brother. "Surely you can handle his protection on your own?"

Wolfram hmphed and stepped down from Nemesis (A/N: his horse, right?). "Of _COURSE_ I can handle it." He crossed his arms, "The wimp needs the best, and who better than me?"

Conrad smiled and turned to the Temple guards with a nod, "You may inform Ulrike that we have arrived." The guards bowed and left to inform the Priestess. Conrad stood back to observe his traveling party. Gwendal was still pinching the bridge of his nose in irritation, probably none too happy about being up at the current hour to handle such a strange occurrence. The guards they brought with them appeared to be stuck between watching Gunter swoon over an oblivious Maou, and shirking away from said Maou and his fire wielding fiancé. The pair was currently caught up in a feud of "wimp"s and "am not"s. Conrad grinned at the sight, "It's good to see that you two have made up."

"Eh?"

"Wah?"

"That's right" Gunter chimed in, "The silence between you was so eerie. I much rather prefer your spirited banter."

Wolfram gaped like a fish. "wah? B-but I never…we never…we've most certainly not made u-"

"It's good to know everything's back to normal between us, Wolf." Yuuri beamed at him happily.

"but…uh..…fehhh" Wolfram sighed and slumped forward defeated, "Yeah, normal…I guess."

At that moment the doors reopened and a Shrine Maiden's head peeked out at them, "T-the Great Sage will see you now" she said timidly. With that the doors swung wide and the group made their way forward.

"Right, let's go see...THE GREAT SAGE?" Yuuri stopped dead in his tracks. "Murata's here? But he…he was back at Blood Pledge. He had dinner with us! Didn't he spend the night too? Don't tell me he got here before us?"

**thisisaline**

Yuuri and his friends were led down the hall by the Shrine Maidens anxiously. "What hall is this?" Wolfram inquired, "I don't remember being down this way before."

"It's traditionally the chamber of life" one of the Maidens explained. "It's one of the more sacred chamber's of the temple. It's rumored to be blessed by one of the very first oracles of the temple. It seemed the best place to lay the visitor, as it is the closest hall to the healer's quarters. We are still required to treat any injured that should come to our door..er…or fountain, stranger or not."

"You may not be familiar with this place, Wolfram," Conrad leaned over his brother's shoulder, "But you were born here. Right behind this very door" he extended his finger towards the large ornate doors in front of them.

The Maiden stopped with her hand on the doors. "Normally we don't allow visitors in here, but given the circumstances, we had no choice." With that, she tapped the doors twice. With a rumbling of gears and locks bearing turned, the heavy door heaved open.

Inside, the room buzzed with activity. Shrine maidens and Temple Guards were scurrying about in flurry chatter. In the center of the room Ulrike stood bent over a scroll on the dais, along with some of the lower priestesses, muttering indecipherably. Several of the shrine maidens were darting back and forth behind a tall curtain erected on the far side of the room. The curtain was silhouetted in shadows by the candle light, skewed shapes flitting behind it. One of the shadows moved to the edge of the curtain and out popped Murata, nodding to the maidens at his right and smirking as they blushed and giggled before darting behind the curtain in his place. Being the only man in the Temple on a regular basis must have its perks.

"Murata!" Yuuri exclaimed, still not entirely sure how the other double black could have possibly made it there before them all.

Said double black looked up. "Ah Yuuri, long time no see"

"…we just saw you at dinner…"

Murata laughed, "Of course, of course." He turned back to the curtain for a moment, the glared falling upon his glasses even in the dim lighting. "You're probably wondering why you were called here."

"Well of course we know why" Wolfram huffed, "Someone was found in the temple that shouldn't be here."

Murata held up a finger and wagged it at the blonde, "Ah, but we could easily have our own lovely guards handle it," he glanced at the guards who did their best to look professional and unaffected, "and had a report sent to you in the morning. Why is it that we felt it best you be present for this personally?" He stood there looking quite smug to have caught Wolfram without an answer to that. "No idea? Well then, feel free to come with me." He waved his hand to them and approached the dais Ulrike was hunched over.

"Ulrike, would you like to fill them in?" Murata asked the Oracle.

He was met with no response, the vague muttering continued uninterrupted.

"Ulrike? Ulrike. Ulllllrikeeeee…Ulrike, the forbidden boxes exploded!"

"What?" Ulrike leapt up with a start. Her large, childish eyes fixed upon Murata. "What was that, Geika?"

"Well, now that I have your attention" Murata gestured to Yuuri and the others, "Heika is here to see you as you asked."

Ulrike immediately perked up at that. She turned to Yuuri with a bright, cheerful smile. "Oh Heika, it's good to see you again! I hope we didn't disturb your rest."

"Well actually.."

"Of course not!" Yuuri cut Wolfram off. "Don't worry about it. We're just happy to be of some help. But…what exactly is going on?"

Ulrike face became serious once more. She beckoned them all closer to the parchment she had laid out upon the dais. Etched into the aged and crackling paper was a large map of stars and astrological designs, every symbol and lines swirling around each other.

Conrad and Gwendal gasped (A/N: Can Gwendal gasp?"); it was the same star map when Wolfram was born.

Ulrike caught the look of surprise upon their faces and nodded. "I take it you all forgot about this map? I almost did too, it has been so long. However, I always knew that this day would come." She ignored the looks of confusion upon Yuuri and Wolfram's faces and leaned over the map. She touched the center of the spinning shapes and the map instantly stilled. "As you all know a visitor as arrived to us in Shin Makou." Everyone nodded. "Well," she continued "It's no coincidence that they ended up in our fountain. They _came_ here through the fountain."

The group gasped. Gunter stepped closer, "You mean…"

Ulrike nodded again. "Yes, the power of Shinou was called upon to bring them here without my knowing." She leveled the three demon brothers with a solemn stare. "I believe the prophecy is finally coming to pass"

Conrad and Gwendal looked rather startled, while Wolfram was simply confused. "What Prophecy?" Yuuri was just as lost. What could possibly have happened that concerned Wolfram?

"Wolfram," Gunter placed a hand on the young man's shoulder, "on the eve of your birth, a prophecy was made up concerning the future of the kingdom."

"When I was born?"

"Yes" Ulrike reached out to grip both Wolfram and Yuuri's hands. "This prophecy concerns both of you, established on the eve of which the first of you two was born." She directed them to a section of the map, where two archaic symbols laid intertwined together. "These are the symbols for water and fire, as written in one of the oldest forms of the language of Shin Makou. The destinies of two particular wielders of these elements are tied together."

"And you believe those two are us?" Yuuri asked.

"That's what we have interpreted the map to mean. Let me make this short," Ulrike tapped the map and it sprung to life again. "According to the prophecy, a great war is approaching" she raised a hand to silence any protest from Yuuri, "Do not question me, Heika. It is written in the stars. Take them for what they are and do not blame me. Now then, it is said a warrior will be sent to aid the Maou in the battle for our Kingdom's welfare. This warrior will be neither great nor meager, fair nor foul. This indescribable warrior will be the deciding factor in not only the fate of our Kingdom, but the fate of you and Lord Von Bielefeld."

"So you're saying that this warrior will win the war for us?" Yuuri shared a look with Wolfram; still none too thrill at the prospect of going to war at all.

"There is no mention to the outcome of the war, Heika, nor is there any indication of what role this warrior will truly play," Ulrike shrugged. "It is only implied that their involvement will be the key influence in the battle and your lives. It doesn't even say whether this influence will be positive or negative"

Wolfram turned to Conrad and the others, "And you all knew about this?" he glared at the Great Sage, "And I suppose you had some knowledge of this too, right?"

Murata only laughed, "But of course, it is my job to be all knowing, isn't it?"

"That's not your job at all!"

The wrinkle between Gwendal's eyebrows was growing more prominent as the moments wore on. "Enough" He turned to face Ulrike with a frown settled upon his face. "Ulrike, are you implying that this visitor of ours is the fabled warrior from the prophecy?"

"It would appear so. This star map became active only moments before they arrived. It nearly scared the priestess who tends to the library half to death." Behind her, Murata chuckled.

"And" Gunter looked about, "Where is this fabled warrior?"

"Where else?" Murata jerked a thumb towards the curtain on the far side of the room. "Our healer has been making an examination for health reasons. Not every day someone alive floats face down in the water."

Cautiously the group approached the curtain. Who could this brave and bold warrior of Shin Makou be?

Wolfram's thoughts, however, where elsewhere. Eyes fixed resolutely on his fiancé's back; the blonde bishonen was attempting to burn a hole into the black jacket with looks alone. While he was still pretty miffed at Yuuri for being the insensitive, clueless wimp he was, there was very little he could do to solve the matter; that he knew. Yuuri wasn't going to figure out what was wrong without being told, and that would only lead to another one of the boy king's special lectures on the immoral of love in the same sex. Wolfram would like to avoid as much unknowingly hurtful words as possible this evening.

A flutter of gray and flowing white snuck into the corner of Wolfram's vision. "You seem a bit troubled, Lord von Bielefeld," Ulrike gave the young lord a small smile. "Perhaps you would like to talk about you and Heika with someone who will offer a listening ear?"

Wolfram avoided her gaze and waved a manicured hand in dismissal. "I believe you'll find this to be _none_ of your concern." He gave her a small glance out of the corner of his eye, "why do you care anyway? We aren't exactly the best of friends, if you haven't noticed."

Ulrike's smile widened with warmth. "One doesn't become an Oracle for nothing, Lord von Bielefeld. I have known you since the day you were born. I know all about the life you have lived and," She reached out and smoothed a small, childlike hand over the chest of his uniform, "and the walls you have built around your heart."

Wolfram bristled and stepped away hastily. "Knock it off!"

Ulrike only giggled. "I think it is wonderful the effect Heika has had on you. I hear it had been quite a long time since you smiled truly happy before our Maou arrived."

"And just who would have you been talking to that has known me since childhood?"

"teehee…"

"Shinou!" Gunter and Gwendal turned back to them for a second, a puzzled look on their faces. Wolfram waited till they turned back around again before crouching down slightly. "It was Shinou, wasn't it? Why can't he mind his own business?"

"He only wants to look out for his descendants, I assure you" Ulrike patted his arm. "You may not believe this, but despite Shinou's less than…appropriate behavior in the past, he does want what is best for you. Trust me."

Wolfram huffed and looked at the floor, "Lady Ulrike…is…is the fate that the prophecy refers to…about Yuuri and mine's relationship…or our lives?"

"Who can say" Ulrike smile was very reminiscent of Conrad's, a hint of sad hiding in the corners. "The problem with these prophecies is that they were made so long ago without any reveal intent. Who knows if the spirits making them foresaw the questions their predictions would have?"

Wolfram nodded. "Well…thanks I guess for…whatever…"

"Anytime, Wolfram. Anytime." Ulrike bowed deep to the young lord and, with a smile, whirled around and went back to the dais and the parchment it held. Wolfram gave her one last backwards glance before rejoining Yuuri and the others at the curtain.

There was a rustle of movement behind the curtain, and a weary looking woman with Auburn hair emerged from behind it. "I wouldn't be too loud," advised the healer, "My patient requires rest." She stepped aside and gestured to them, "after you, then."

Yuuri made to go forward, but felt a hand on his shoulder. Conrad shook his head and told him to stay behind. Wolfram stood at Yuuri's side with a scowl on his face as the other's past them and stepped behind the curtain.

There was a collective gasp from the other side. "Oh…my…" Gunter murmured.

"What? What is it?" Yuuri hurried behind the curtain, Wolfram on his heels.

The Maou and his fiancé stopped short as their gaze fell upon the figure asleep before them.

"The fabled warrior" asked Gwendal.

"A double black!" Gunter gushed.

Yuuri was stunned. "A…a..a _twelve year old boy_?"


	4. Chapter 3: A Book by its Cover

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series. Though if I did own it, there would be far more obvious hints of boy love, yaoi galore, and all anime remakes of Thriller and Tub Thumping music videos. Humor me here, Takabayashi.

I am ridiculously happy and grateful to those of you who have read, reviewed and even put my story on your favorites list. It was lovely to find that I have such loyal readers out there! I appreciate each and every one of the reviews left for my eyes to see. I apologize for having been M.I.A for so long and leaving my precious baby untouched. I've was swamped in work at my University near the end of the spring semester and then this summer has been slightly hectic for me. But now I am back and ready to roll! Also, did you know that automatically gets rid of the symbols you put in to signify a scene change or time skip? I used the asterisk symbol in between scenes and I recently discovered that they weren't there after the uploading through , leaving me with scenes massed together. So I went back and re-uploaded every chapter with "thisisaline" inserted. You don't have to go back and re-read the past chapters if you have already read them, I only fixed the scene break marker.

Ah, the OC has been introduced (sort of) and now the party will really start cranking! I hope I have managed to capture a realistic yet fun person in my writing, one that you can all enjoy. This chapter and the true OC introduction are dedicated to **Chazzyheartslexi**, for her heartwarming review which has inspired me to get my rear in gear.

Chapter Three

A Book by its Cover

The group stared down in shocked at the limp form in front of them. None of them seemed to know what to make of it. Behind them, Murata could be seem with his ever present smirk plastered across his face, a light source seemingly coming from nowhere to obscure his eyes behind the frames of his glasses. It was obvious to the temple residents that his royal companions' varying surprised, shocked, and (in Yuuri's case) slacked jawed expressions were quite amusing to the Great Sage.

"Now, wait a minute, wait a minute!" Yuuri couldn't seem to wrap his mind around it. "You mean to tell me that the hero the prophecy spoke of is a-a _little kid_?"

"Your Majesty!" The auburn haired healer admonished gently, "Please do be mindful of the volume of your voice. My patient needs to rest."

"Actually the medicine you used was pretty strong" Murata corrected, "I doubt you could wake even the lightest sleeper during a rockslide while under the influence of that stuff."

"Still it's the principal of the thing," the healer insisted.

Yuuri had enough control over his shock to smile apologetically at the weary woman. "Sorry. It's just that…" he gestured to the figure on the bed the Shrine maidens had brought into the chamber for this occasion, "it's….a _preteen_ we're talking about here!"

It was true; lying on the medical bed was a child. Their visitor seemed roughly around eleven or twelve years old. His eyes were half concealed under a messy bowl cut of thick, black hair, lids shut tight like he was perhaps having a nightmare of some sort. Either the dream was a bad one, or the boy had naturally stern features. A stiff, rigid jaw line with a mouth twisted down into a frown painted the boy's face. One of his sleeves were rolled up exposing a pale, skinny arm with a boney wrist; shrine maidens alternating between checking his pulse and rubbing a replenishing salve against it to be absorbed into the skin. Judging by where the outlines ended under the blanket pulled over him, it was safe to say he was shorter than Wolfram, probably only a foot or two taller than Greta. "This is the Great Warrior?"

"The prophecy never said to expect the warrior to be great, Shibuya." Murata reminded Yuuri with a wry grin.

Wolfram snorted from besides the demon king. "Wimp," he huffed, "If I recall correctly, Ulrike told us the prophecy said our warrior would be '_neither great nor meager, fair nor foul_'" the blonde recited with one finger waving merrily. He cast a smug look at his fiancé, "Wimp" he added snidely one more time. Yuuri scowled something akin to Gwendal and stuck his tongue out at the youngest prince.

Yuuri cast his gaze back over the alleged "hero". "Whatever the prophecy said," he sent a glare Wolfram's way, "I still can't grasp how the one sent to help us is a little boy."

"Um…" the healer piped up nervously from behind them all, "Y-your highness…" she was abruptly cut off by Gunter.

"How wonderful!" he gushed, hands clasped together in what Yuuri could only describe as the fan girlish adoration they had seen in the TV shows of Earth. The Lavender haired advisor's eyes glistens with unshed tears and if one tried hard enough, they could almost imagine the cascading torrents of flower petals spiraling in the background. "To think the fates would bless us with yet another _Double Black_ makes my heart leap with joy! Oh praise Shinou and all his wonders!" He spun around in a circle while the rest of the room edged away from him. Gwendal massaged the bridge of his nose to soothe an oncoming headache at the antics of the flaky Noble.

"E-excuse me…" the healer mumbled.

"Now let's not get ahead of ourselves here, Gunter." Conrad waved a hand over the sleeping form, "we don't know for sure if he is a double black. After all, while black hair is not the most common, by itself it is certainly not unheard of. We haven't even seen what color his are yet to be making the assumption." He turned to the healer with a kind smile. "Coincidentally, what color are his eyes, Lady…?"

"Corona, Sir Weller," the healer stammered. "And w-well the patient—"

"Those eyes are black alright," Murata cut in, ignoring Yuuri's scolding about it being rude to interrupt a person and Wolfram's comments on "lousy, know-it-all, pervert sages". "I checked myself when they first brought the patient in."

"Y-your Eminence…"

He grinned at the healer. "Right Lady Corona?"

Lady Corona flushed, a frown marring her gentle features. "Y-yes, but about what I was trying to say…"

Gwendal took a step closer to the medical bed and looked down his nose at the boy. "So then he is a double black. Interesting. Then he really is from Earth."

"Yes b-but"

"Gotta be" Yuuri moved forward, Wolfram right behind him. "Look at these clothes he's wearing." He fingered the drawstrings dangling from the fabric gathered loosely at the boy's neck. "How many Mazoku do you guys know in Shin Makoku go around wearing hooded sweatshirts?" Without waiting for permission, he flipped up the corner of the blanket, ignoring Wolfram's cry of outrage at his unabashed peeping, "And cargo shorts?" He let the blanket fall back down in place.

"I have something to say…" piped Lady Corona.

"And he must be Japanese if he is a double black, right Yuuri?" Wolfram asked from besides him. He had leaned over next to the young monarch to inspect the strange clothes.

Yuuri finally took notice of how close the blonde was actually standing to him and turned a slight shade of red. Coughing he pretended to be quite interested in the frayed edge of the blanket. "Well, there are plenty of other ethnicities of Asian descent—that's the race Japanese is from" he explained, "—that have both black hair and eyes." He leaned over to get a closer look at the front of the sleeping boy's hoodie, pulling back the blanket a tad. "However, he might actually be from Japan, all things considered. Not only is he from Earth and Asian, but take a look at this." He lightly tapped the design embroidered across the fabric, a numbered of artistically slashed lines and symbols. "This means Kawasaki, a Japanese company that makes transportation vehicles for all over Earth. It's written in Kanji here (1). I can think of Japan as the only place that would use Japanese characters, make sense? I mean they don't use Kanji in Europe or America as far as I know." Wolfram nodded in agreement, not quite knowing what "Europe" or "Kawasaki" was still, but agreeing all the same. Unnoticed behind them, Corona was wringing her hands.

"I-if I could just say something about the patient…"

"I wonder why we would be sent someone so young" Gwendal wondered aloud. He and Gunter were now standing at the head of the medical bed, the latter still staring in awe at the Asian child, mumbling about how wonderful it would be to see him with his eyes open. Something caught Gwendal's eye at that moment. "What's this?" he asked, carefully pulling out the end of a long, jet black curl that had been previously sticking out from underneath the boys neck.

"Hmm?" Yuuri replaced Gwendal's hand with his own and gave the strand a look over. It was a fine skinny strand, growing from base of the boy's hair line in the back. Closer inspection revealed it to be actually a long, unusually slim braid. "I've seen these before, I think. Some of the boys at school had them. Not too many though, now that I think of it."

"I believe that is what they call a 'rat tail' in America, Shibuya" Murata filled in, chuckling at the look of the disgust that flashed over Wolfram's face at the name. Gwendal too sported an expression of disapproval. "They were quite popular over there during the 1980's."

"The 1980's?" Yuuri considered this for a moment. "Hey do you think he was sent from the past? Like in those old sci-fi flicks? Maybe he's sent from the past to help us save our future!" Yuuri's eyes bugged out like a little kid's in a candy store, completely oblivious to the fact that he had lost everyone but Murata and Conrad with words like "Sci-Fi" and "flicks".

Murata debated humoring Shibuya's notion but decided for once that a straightforward answer would be best. "I highly doubt that Shibuya. Time travel seems very unlikely in any case. Besides, I checked the clothes myself," his glasses gleamed eerily, "they're recent fashions. They must have been manufactured in the last year or so. My guess is our guest just liked that hairstyle." He shook his head with a smile and shrugged his shoulders. "Though I can't imagine why anyone would want a style so outdated."

Yuuri took that all in and nodded. "I guess you're right." His sci-fi adventure crushed before it even began.

"M-may I speak?"

"Please be quiet for the time being, my good woman. We are still deliberating over the boy at this time. We will answer any questions you have soon enough." Gunter waved off the flustered healer's attempts to speak, brows creased in thought as he too examined the braid, though it may have been more so for the thrill of fondling the "Glorious Double Black's" soft hair.

"I-it's not a question. You see, I need to tell you that…"

"Actually, come here a moment." Gunter called the woman forward and she obeyed without hesitation. "What is this bandage here for?" the advisor had pulled back the edge of the sweatshirt's collar, exposing a large stretch of white medicinal wrappings, already reddening in the middle. "What caused such an injury as this? Was he attacked?" He smoothed a hand over the boy's forehead, feeling a pang of sympathy for someone so young to have possibly suffered so.

"N-no, Lord Gunter, well maybe. At least we don't think it was an attack." Lady Corona signaled to one of the shrine maidens nearby who was carrying an object wrapped in cloth. The girl scurried over and stood before the healer and group of nobles. "You see, this came through the fountain as well" Corona explained as she began to un-wrap the cloth from the object. As more layers of cloth came off, the group caught a glimpse of rough, course string.

Conrad furrowed his eyebrows. "So this was wrap around his neck, I take it? When he came through?"

"Yes." Murata answered before the healer could speak. Next to them the shrine maiden was giving him an odd, questioning look. "It was wrapped pretty tightly from what I was told; made a real deep gash."

Lady Corona was starting to glare at him, "Yes…" she echoed. She turned to the others as the final wrappings came off the object in the shrine maiden's hands. "Do you think it is a weapon?"

Yuuri stared at the item laid out on the cloth. A minute of silence went by, everyone looking to their King for answers on the strange object sent from Earth. Then, "Murata…have you…looked at this supposed weapon since it was removed from his neck?"

Murata kept his face pleasantly calm and neutral. "Why, yes I did, Shibuya."

Wolfram glanced in between the two dark haired young men. He turned to Gunter, who only shrugged his shoulders at him.

Yuuri took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a moment. "Then why didn't you SAY ANYTHING SOONER TO THEM?" The young Maoh practically exploded. A few of the meeker shrine maidens jumped slightly or backed away. Yuuri waved his arms at the Sage in frustration. "You knew what these were all along and you said NOTHING! You had everyone here thinking the kid had been through some horrid ordeal, beaten with a weapon, when you knew the whole time exactly what these were!" He grabbed the Wise Man the shoulders and shook him a bit. "So why didn't you say anything to them."

"Excuse me, Heika" Gunter interrupted the small tiff. "But you said 'these'? As in, there is more than one thing on that cloth?" Gwendal and Conrad also seemed interested by this sudden multiplication of the item that harmed the boy on the bed.

"Yeah…they're tied together." Yuuri sheepishly turned to the feared weapons on the cloth and picked them up to show the others. A set of bulky plastic and wheels in bright colors and reflective tape were the assailants of their visitor. "It's a pair of roller blades!"

"…..what…Your Majesty…?"

"Yes…what he said…what?"

"…so they _are_ a weapon…"

Wolfram just stared blankly, not having anything to say for once.

Yuuri sighed. "Roller blades. They're shoes with wheels. Kids use them all the time back on Earth." Yuuri had long since ditched the phrase "back home" when referencing Earth. Though the house his family lived in would always be part of his home, Earth itself was no longer where he felt he truly belonged. Earth was more like a vacation spot away from his home, Shin Makoku. Shaking himself from this small reverie, Yuuri picked up where he left off. "Roller blades are faster than walking so they come in handy for getting places when you don't have a car or bike. Kids at my old school used them a lot since they were cheaper than most bikes." He brought the pair of skates up to his face and ran his hand along the string. "These must be an older pair though, because they still have shoelaces on them. Most new pairs can clip into place (2)." He glared at Murata. "He actually let everyone believe these could be used as a weapon."

"Well they technically can be, Heika" Conrad reminded him. "They were in fact wrapped around the boy's neck and we still don't know the reason why or who could have put them there."

For once, Yuuri didn't bother to correct his Godfather's lack of using his name, too busy considering the man's words. "You're right. I supposed they might have been used against him or something." He slammed his fist into his other palm. "Detective Shibuya is on the case!"

Wolfram groaned, he had hoped that being so close to eighteen years old, Yuuri would have grown out of such childish, first year ruling antics.

Murata snickered. "Don't worry," he whispered. "He'll find something to distract himself and be over it in five minutes tops." Wolfram grinned despite himself and nodded.

"We'll be needed the 'roller blades' as evidence, Lady Corona" Gwendal said, taking the blades from Yuuri and giving the healer a curt nod.

"Of course" Lady Corona shooed away the shrine maiden holding the now empty cloth. "Now, I would actually like to discuss something with you. Concerning the patient?"

Before she could continue, one of the temple guards joined them behind the curtain and spoke quickly to Gwendal. He listened to the women intently, before dismissing her. "I'm afraid it will have to wait, Lady Corona. I have received word that a messenger has just reached our guards at the temple gate." The guards from Shin Makoku, being very male had been forced to remain outside the temple, as only Yuuri and his companions had been granted entrance by Ulrike to enter. "It seems that Gisela is ready and waiting to examine the boy at Blood Pledge Castle. The sooner she tends to that neck wound the better, I dare say. You yourself are not a maryokou user, are you?" He gave her a knowing look.

The healer frowned slightly, "No, unfortunately our own maryokou healer is sick in bed tonight. Normally I would be concerned to treat a case like this without her, but I had a feeling Lady Gisela would be asked to intervene given the circumstances." She seemed only a tad offended that the best healer in Shin Makoku wanted to question her abilities and re-examine _her_ patient.

"Yes, well that said, we should get going. It is a decent length of a ride and I doubt Gisela is going to be feeling very patient at this hour." Gunter was already having some of the shrine maidens carefully lower the boy unto a stretcher. "Please allow us to borrow a carriage for transportation. You may hook it up to some of our horses; one or two of us don't mind riding back together in the carriage I'm sure." The maidens nodded and set about their tasks, already carrying the boy out the door.

Lady Corona pursued the departing group. "Wait! I still must speak to you about the patient. It is very important!"

"We are pressed for time as it is, Lady Corona." Gunter called out merrily over his shoulder. "Fear not for my daughter Gisela will surely spot and inform us of anything concerning the lad's health in short order. Goodnight to you! And thank you for looking after him for us." He left with the boy on the stretcher.

"No, you don't understand. Don't misunderstand!" But no one seemed to be listening.

"Why are _you_ following us Murata?" Yuuri was asking as he and Wolfram headed out the door. They had already figured out who would no doubt be asked to ride in the carriage to make use of their horses to pull it; them. It made the most sense. Yuuri 'needed protection' and his fiancé was expected to ride inside to provided company and guarding. Now there was the matter of the sage.

"Well you can't expect me to miss out on greeting our hero in the morning, can you?" The bespectacled boy inquired. "It makes more sense for me to simply come now and sleep at the castle."

"Wait everyone, you must know…"

"Well where will you ride then?" Wolfram cut in. He already had a feeling where this was going.

"Wait!"

Murata laughed. "Why in the carriage, of course!"

He was answered back by a duet of "There's no room!" before the doors to the chamber of life slammed shut.

"Wa-ait…" the healer sighed. "I never got to tell them."

"I wonder why His Eminence didn't say anything" the shrine maiden with the cloth from earlier spoke up, "he knew all along. He was here before them."

Ulrike finally looked up from the dais she had been bent over the entire time the gang was present. She giggled aloud, drawing the curious stares of those around her. "I'm sure they will find out soon. In fact, I bet the Great Sage didn't say anything because he wanted to see the look on His Majesty's face when he finds out."

**thisisaline**

"I really wished you could have brought him here sooner, father," Gisela scolded. The Demon King and company were currently in the resident Castle healer's medic ward (3) and the verdant haired maryokou user was laying into her father with as much barely suppressed agitation as a recently woken sandbear. "With a gash this big on his neck, a quick and proper healing is essential. As it is, I fear the wound might be already infected." She grimaced to herself as she proceeded to gather fresh bandages and salves. "Really, when was the last time those things were washed?"

She was, of course, referring to the accursed roller blades or more so the dirty frayed laces strung between them. Currently the objects of her scorn, besides her flaky father, were resting on a medical table at the far side of the room. Conrad had brought them directly to the healing woman's place of work upon arrival in case any odd occurrences appeared in their young visitor's health and Gisela wished to check the pair of "blades" for poison. Also, the swordsman wished to keep Anissina's from discovering the dreaded rolling shoes for as long as possible. Shinou only knows what complicated demon powered monstrosity she would create inspired by such a simplistic and _uncomplicated _design as shoes with wheels!

"Ah-ha. Well, you see, Gisela…" Yuuri placated the irritable healer. "We are terribly sorry to have taken so long. We got…uh…caught up in some other matters, unfortunately." He trailed off, sharing an uncomfortable look with Wolfram. The words of the prophecy still rang in both their heads. It would affect their very futures…their very lives…

Gisela grace her monarch with a smile. "Oh I certainly don't blame you for this, Your Majesty," she bowed in respect to show she had not forgotten in her anger that he was present.

Yuuri return her smile with a sheepish grin of his own. He could almost hear the faint ring of 'cheater' echoing in his head. Well at least Wolfram had stopped that yelling tangent a while back; for the most part. Yuuri could still set off the old familiar fit if he pushed Wolfram's buttons just right and for much too long around pretty women. Yuuri was only thankful it had drastically decreased in the past year.

At the moment, said blond was only trying to burn a hole into the back of his head with a pair of emerald eyes.

Gisela had turned to regard the rest of the group gathered around their injured guest. "In fact, I'm not blaming any of you for this. The only one to be held accountable for the current condition of this poor boy would be my father!" she fixed her father with a disapproving gaze. "I am very disappointed in you."

"Me, Gisela?" Gunter seemed absolutely aghast. "But I had no role in deciding how fast our grand visitor got here. If I had possessed the power to influence our arrival time, I would have literally flown him to you out before you had the chance to send word to the temple!" He clapped a hand to his forehead and dramatically cried, "That is the range of my devotion to this kingdom and any honored guest of my beloved Heika!"

"Oh really?" Gisela stormed up to her father and stood nose to nose with him, poking him painfully in the chest as she spoke, "Do refresh my memory then. When I met you all at the Castle gates upon arrival, did you or did you not claim, with much pride may I add, that it was _you_ who was the first to notice the wound among everyone who visited the Temple of the Great One?" when Gunter could only offer sputtering of nonsensical nonsense in his defense, she continued, "Well, then you should have brought my patient back to the Castle **the second** you saw it without delay, regardless of whether the others were with you!" She was beginning to slip more and more into her feared "Sergeant" persona by the minute. With sweet smile, turned rather eerie in her current mood she added with upbeat cheer, "I'm sure anything Heika and the others would have discussed after you left, they would have been more than happy to fill you in on at a later time."

"But, I had only noticed it just moments before your message arrived," Gunter's protest fell on deaf ears.

Gisela turned back to the youth laid out on the bed she had prepared. Taking the bandages with her as she went, she approached him and pulled back the collar of the boy's shirt to get a better look at the gash. "As it is, I've got my work cut out for me with this one." She dabbed at the sore and open flesh with a salve-soaked cloth, wincing when the spot immediately began to bubble up. Washing the area out, Gisela placed her hands over the boy's neck and began to use her maryokou. "He really should have been brought in the second he came to Shin Makoku," she stated with a shake of her head.

"But, you can fix it, right, Gisela?" Wolfram asked. "I mean, he's going to be alright, isn't he? It isn't going to scar?"

Gisela sighed and lifted one hand to wipe the accumulating sweat from her brow, the other hand still glowing faintly over her charge's neck. "No, it won't scar thankfully. But unfortunately he's going to have to keep it wrapped up for a long time. He'll probably need to see me often during the first few weeks, to have the wrappings changed. It shouldn't have gotten this infected; those laces must have been really dirty."

"It's safe to say then that our guest here might have some demon in their blood," Murata had decided to enter the conversation.

The occupants of the room looked at him curiously.

"What do you mean, Murata?" Yuuri cocked his head to the side.

"Well Gisela did say the injury seems to have become infected faster than it should have. Demons tend to react quicker to outside forces harming the body." He began to count off on his fingers, "Poisons, diseases, even a bit of dirt in a sore that big can accelerate to infection in a demon body whereas it would reside longer in a human's system before any harm became apparent."

"You are quite right, Geika." Gunter nodded, "Quite right indeed. It is very possible for the boy to be of demon blood."

"Well why don't we ask him?" Yuuri pointed at the bed Gisela was leaning over. "He's waking up now." He was answered by a chorus of gasps.

The child Gisela was treating did seem to be returning to consciousness. His eyes were flickering under the lids, eyebrows twitching. His mouth scrunched up at the corner as he let out a little groan.

"You're right, Yuuri." Wolfram was at his fiancé's side in an instant.

"Gunter also flocked to the bedside. "Oh how marvelous!"

Everyone watched with bated breath as the black haired boy slowly opened his eyes…

**thisisaline**

The boy's eyes had seemed to settle on the ceiling once the initial blurriness had worn off. From there the onyx orbs lazily roamed to Gisela, probably taking in the pinched looked of concentration on her face and just how close she actually was to him. The others watched as he began to look around with a bit more perplexed clarity, gradually becoming more and more alarmed with every face he came to, every detail of unfamiliar brick and stone walls. For a few seconds no one spoke.

Then he snapped up in the bed, struggling to swing his legs over the side, the other side, the one with no strange people on it.

"Calm down, calm down now," Gisela addressed him as firmly as one talking to a wild boar (A/N do they even have those in Shin Makoku?), gentle but sure, soft yet calculating. "No one is going to hurt you." She began to push him to lie back down. When that didn't work, she gripped his shoulders and attempted to stronghold him back down onto the mattress. "You're with friends now. Just rest and let me tend to…urgh…your…wounds…oh, will someone help me with him?" Conrad came over to the opposite side of the bed and together they managed to ease the frightened male back into a reclined position. Though cooperating for now, the boy was far from calm. He was lying stiff as a board on the mattress like a prisoner awaiting execution by pendulum in the pit (4), his dark eyes darting back and forth every so often.

Not one to be discouraged or possibly not even aware of their guest extreme discomfort in his own excitement, Gunter unleashed his own brand of greeting; misty eyed gushing, and flailing passion. "Welcome to Shin Makoku!" he cried with much a gusto. "The glorious demon Kingdom ruled by the even more glorious 27th Maoh. May I present to you His Majesty." He gestured with a dramatic sweeping of his arm to Yuuri, who could only smile and wave nervously. "We hope you will enjoy your stay here."

Everyone sweat dropped at the advisors overtop antics. Hoping to cut off any further attempts at unveiling the welcome wagon, Gwendal sighed and reached a hand out to yank the flaky man over to him. "Gunter…"

"Our guest can't understand us."

Shocked silence.

"What, Murata?" Yuuri stared at his friend in question. "What do you mean he can't understand us? What makes you say that?"

"Look," the sage gestured to the dark haired boy on the bed. The boy was regarding them with a mixed expression of confusion and suspicion, the fear receding. "It doesn't look like there is any comprehension to what we're saying at all. Earth demons only speak Earth languages I assume, probably like Yuuri did when he first arrived."

Yuuri cringed. "I had forgotten about that. I guess it would be foolish to assume he knows our language right off the bat. Wolfram looked like he was chanting 'wimp' in his head at that moment.

Conrad gave his usual kind smile. "It's been a long night, Heika. It's understandable that we would all be a little forgetful of that detail. After all, it was a few years ago that you went through the language barrier."

"Well," Gwendal approached the bed. "If this boy really is the fabled warrior of the prophecy and of demon blood, then perhaps he has lived a past life, chosen by Shinou as Geika and Heika were." He stood over the boy and turned the group. "If so then it is possible to bring out the Mazoku language suppressed in his subconscious. It's worth a try at least." He finished as he placed both hands on the apprehensive child's head. Pressing down, the room seemed to fill with a sudden thick tension. The boy made a chocked off sound in the back of his throat.

Yuuri flinched as he watched the look of pain scrawl across the boy's face. He certainly remembered how bad it felt when Adelbert had tapped into his mind so that he could speak with everyone. Then again, the boy may simply be wincing from the undo pressure on his injured neck when Gwendal pushed down on his head.

Gwendal drew his hands back and looked down at the boy. "Can you understand me?"

It took the boy a moment to gather his senses after that experience. When he finally did his brows knitted together, his mouth working noiselessly before any sound came out. "What's…where….you bring… here…?"

Yuuri found himself switching between Japanese and Mazoku as the boy spoke. The weak attempt had been mixed between Mazoku and a definite Tokyo dialect. Piecing the words together, it sounded like the boy was saying, "What's going on? Where am I? Why did you bring me here?"

Gwendal frowned. "It seems that I can't fully draw out the Mazoku language from his mind. We can understand him now, but he still doesn't seem to fully understand us."

"But this was a good sign, Gwendal." Gunter pointed out, "You were able to do it somewhat. Perhaps he did live a past life. Either way, he will have to be taught proper demon dialect." A brief glimpse of happiness crossed the tutor's face before being replaced with a frown. "But how will we speak with him for now?"

"Well I supposed there is always this." Everyone turned to find Murata holding a small gadget in his hand. "Translating was its intended purpose after all."

"Isn't that Anissina's invention for helping Wolfram and the others understand people when we visit Earth (5)?" Yuuri asked "How is that going to help us now? You can't all wear one."

Murata chuckled. "Ah, but we won't have to, Shibuya." He chided, wagging a finger back and forth. It works in reverse as well. It can translate Mazoku into Japanese for our friend here." Judging by the grin on his face, it was obvious Murata had also been able to make out and understand the snippets of his and Yuuri's mother tongue.

"You had that this whole time?" Yuuri cried. "Why didn't you simply suggest we use it to begin with instead of watching us all get lost in translation?"

"I merely wanted to see if our guest truly had any mazoku memories stored up like you did first. That's all." Behind the sage Yuuri groaned in exasperation.

Murata had taken a place next to the boy and was gesturing between the device and his own ear before pointing at the boy's. "This earpiece" he explained, "makes us," he pointed to himself then to the group, "easy to understand. Do you want to try?"

The boy sat up slightly, Gisela allowing it for the time being. Brows furrowed in deep thought, he stared at the device. He appeared to be mulling over the sage's words. Finally, he nodded.

Smiling, Murata coaxed the boy to tilt his head to the side, giving the Wise Man better access to his ear. Slipping the gadget into place, he turned it on and stood back. "Is that better?"

"Y-yes," the boy stuttered softly, seemingly startled at the sudden change. "Much better, t-thanks I guess."

Wolfram couldn't help but note that the boy certainly didn't sound too impressive for a warrior. His voice had a slight nasal quality, not enough to grate on ones nerves, but enough to be noticeable. It was deeper than the prince expected for someone around twelve, but then again, he couldn't really expect anything too adorable with eyes like the ones the boy was sporting. They were certainly reminiscent of Gwendal in their narrowed shape, the prominent eyebrows above them. '_If he was older he'd certainly have the face of a warrior_.'

The boy looked around nervously. "So where am I, exactly?" He made to step off the bed.

"Don't get up." Gisela pushed him back down onto the mattress, albeit easier than last time. "Now just hold still, I'm not done yet." She returned to treating his neck injury, looping an arm under him to start lacing the bandages over and around. She slipped a finger in to hold them far enough away from his skin to not be too tight. "You're in the medical ward of Blood Pledge Castle, _my_ medical ward, so I suggest you listen to me. You were brought to me with a severe neck injury, due to strangulation by your…Roller Blades," she said the words like she had eaten something unpleasant; displeased with such bizarre objects harming her patient. "So you are not to use those things until I deem you well enough to handle it. It's non-negotiable," she added when the boy opened his mouth to protest.

He pouted. "Fine. And you can call them skates, by the way. It's shorter. So…how did I get injured exactly?"

"We were hoping you could tell us, actually." Conrad spoke up. "Were you attacked?"

"With my skates?" The boy looked skeptical. "Not that I recall. In fact," he paused and stared off into space. "The last thing I remember was leaving for school this morning…"

"Really?" Gunter seemed shocked. "Think carefully; surely you remember more than that. An attack, an ambush, anything that could have brought you to us in such a state?" He stopped and shook his head with a slight laugh. "Forgive me. We have not been properly introduced. I am Gunter von Christ. You just met my daughter Gisela." He gesture to the green haired woman now smiling kindly and helping the boy back into a sitting position. "May we inquire as to what your name is?"

The boy seemed momentarily stunned to find such a pretty man talking to him. Snapping out of his stupor, he cleared his throat noisily. "Um, since we're being so formal, it's Kim Lee. And no, I honestly don't know what happened. One minute I'm going to school, the next I'm here. Speaking of which," he turned a suspicious eye to Murata and Gwendal. "Where is here? Why did you bring me here?"

"You're in Shin Makoku, the capital of the demon kingdom" Gwendal answered curtly. "As for what you are doing here, you were brought to us through the fountain at our temple and needed immediate medical attention." Leave to Gwendal to get to the point.

"D-demon kingdom?" the boy gaped. "Shin what now? Fountain?" He held his hands up like he was pushing back an invisible force. "Wait, wait, wait. One thing at a time here; start at the beginning for me."

Yuuri could see this was going nowhere fast. "Well, first off" he began "let me introduce everyone. You met Gunter and Gisela. This is Conrad Weller, Wolfram Von Bielefeld, and Gwendal von Voltaire. All brothers…I'll eh, explain later. Anyway this is Murata Ken and I'm Yuuri Shibuya." He stuck his hand out with a large grin. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kim Lee!"

Kim Lee took the proffered hand, looking as though he highly doubted he'd remember who anyone was. "Okay, with the exception of you two, I'm in the land of funny names." He gave a small smile. "And call me Kimi, everyone does."

Yuuri paused mid-shake. "Really? Kimi? Huh, I guess it makes sense, a cute nickname for someone so young. Your parents must have started it, right?" He asked, remembering his own mom's penchant for the adorable when he was little.

Kim, or Kimi blushed, embarrassed. "N-no! I started it; it sounds better than Kim Lee does." He glared up at the taller boy suddenly, "Just how young do you think I am anyway?"

Yuuri shrugged. "Eleven, Twelve maybe?"

"I'm sixteen!"

Silence.

"WHA?" Yuuri was positively gob smacked, as were Wolfram and Gunter. "B-but…you look so _young_!"

Kimi's blush deepened. "So I'm a little short of stature, big whoop. It's rude to make assumptions before you get to know someone, you know."

Yuuri had the good graces to look ashamed. "Sorry."

The not so young boy huffed. "So besides whom you all are," He folded his legs up on the bed and crossed his arms, "what else should I know?"

"Only that you are in the great presence of the magnificent Demon King, his Majesty the Maoh, Yuuri Shibuya!" Gunter seemed to have gotten second wind on his excitement. "You, my dear child, are in the Great kingdom of Shin Makoku. Welcome!"

Kimi blinked. "…excuse me?" He turned to regard Yuuri. "A king and a demon kingdom? Sounds like some bad fairytale. What does this have to do with me anyway?"

"Well…"

"Why you were sent to us!" Gunter continued. "Through the fountain at the Temple of the Great one to fulfill the fabled prophecy!"

"…What?"

"Let's go into that some other time, Gunter." Conrad placed a hand on the advisors shoulder and turned to the boy with a kind smile. "What you should know is that this isn't Earth you are in. You see in order to come to the demon kingdom you were brought through a rift created between the two worlds leading you through to the water of the fountain." His smile turned sympathetic. "I know this must all sound confusing and hard to believe but you have traveled the plane between worlds and are in Shin Makoku, the home of both demons and humans alike."

Kimi laughed. "This, this is a joke right." He searched the faces before him for a sign of falsehood. "I mean you can't be serious. You can't honestly expect me to believe that, can you?" He froze and turned slowly to Gisela. "You mentioned a castle before…something, something Castle…"

The healer nodded, "Blood Pledge Castle, yes. You're in the medical ward right now." She patted his knee in a motherly sort of way. "I know this is hard to take in right now, but don't worry, you'll love it here. His majesty is quite kind and everyone will do their best to make you feel comfortable."

"Y-yeah but…but. Look you can't really be serious! This is some kind of tourist attraction right? I bunch of foreigners in a prop castle, that's what this is, isn't it?" Kimi was getting more hysterical by the second. "This isn't real."

"Wimp"

Kimi started. He barely noticed the blonde in the room before, he was so quite. Said blond was currently regarding him with a pair of stunning, yet rather annoyed, green eyes.

Yuuri was shocked that Wolfram was calling someone else a wimp for once.

Wolfram, huffed. "Look if you want proof, I'll give you it." He held his hands out in front of him. "_The flames to which all the particles belong_" he began "_Obey the demon tribe that destroyed the Originators_ (6)_!_" As Kimi stared on transfixed, a ball of fire roared to life out of nowhere in the center of the prince's palm. It danced above the skin of his hand, floating there, the flickering tongues of flame burning no part of him. "In our world any Mazoku with a treaty with the elements may tap into their powers in such a way. On Earth, only those of immense strength like the demon king can get even a twitch of power out of it."

Kimi's face went pale, that demonstration had made this joke seem shockingly real. "I-I think I need to lay down."

"I think bed rest is a lovely idea," Gisela nodded. "But first, I would like to do a quick check up of the rest of you, to make sure everything is in order. You have been through quite the ordeal." She tugged on the edge of his hoodie. "If you could take this off, please."

Kimi recoiled in horror. "You want to do a physical? Now? You can't do that!" He looked absolutely scandalized.

"What's wrong?" Yuuri asked. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about. Gisela may be a girl, but this is strictly professional. She's just wants to make sure you're alright."

"That isn't the problem" Kimi insisted hugging himself.

Gisela stared very closely at the boy for a moment before her eyes open wide, a look of understanding crossing her face. "Oh yes, of course," she said. "Silly me, of course you're uncomfortable." She turned to the others. "Everyone's examinations are supposed to be private, right? I've never had an audience for a patient's physical before, why start now?" She began ushering Yuuri and rest out the door. "Anyway, I'm sure you all could use some rest. Tell you what, I'll get this all taken care of and contact you in the morning." She pushed them all out into the hallway and closed the door with a hasty, "Goodnight".

Yuuri stood in front of the doors confused. "Well that was a little odd."

"This whole night has been odd," Wolfram stated with a yawn as they began to walk down the hallway. "And what is she talking about, "in the morning"? It's almost morning now. I'll be lucky if I get any sleep."

"I'm sure Gwendal wouldn't mind if you slept in a bit today, Wolfram. We each could use the rest, so I won't be surprise if we all sleep in," Conrad soothed with a side glance at his eldest brother. The grumpy man nodded stoically. "We'll cancel our morning jog, if you don't mind Heika," the brunette added.

"It's Yuuri, Conrad," the black haired boy corrected. He yawned loudly. "And I don't mind at all. I could use a good nap. At least Greta didn't have to stay up through all this."

"Yeah, she'll get to meet Kimi in the morning," Wolfram agreed. "Won't she be surprised to meet him?"

"Oh shoot!" Yuuri came to a halt. "I almost forgot. We never asked whether Kimi would be staying the night in the medical ward or if he needed a room." He headed back the way they had come. "I'll go find out."

"Yuuri wait," Conrad called after him.

"Heika, let one of us ask for you," Gunter cried.

"Wimp, wait for me!"

"Me too, Shibuya!"

Yuuri rushed up to the ward doors and pushed them open with some effort, Wolfram and Murata at his heels. In the center of the room, a curtain had been drawn around the bed. "Sorry about this Gisela," he called out as he rushed over and pulled the fabric aside. "I just wanted to know if he was…"

Yuuri's brain shorted out.

Gisela was sitting on a stool that she had pulled up next to the bed. Face frozen in shock, she had been in the process of checking Kimi's breathing.

But that's not what Yuuri couldn't wrap his mind around.

On the bed sat Kimi. He was staring at Yuuri looking completely horrified. His hoodie had been removed and was lying on the mattress next to a white tank top Kimi must have been wearing under it.

But instead of Yuuri looking a bare back, he was looking at pale skin and the thin fabric of a training bra…

"Uh…"

**thisisaline**

Miles away at Shinou's Temple, the shrine maidens in the Chamber of Life could faintly hear shrill screaming echoing over the hilltops. It was accompanied by the howling of "Cheater".

Without looking up from the dais, Ulrike smile. "It sounds like Heika just found out."

* * *

Huzzah! A chapter is finished. Well how'd you like that little twist at the end? I hope it was as surprising for you as I intended it to be. What do you think of Kimi? Don't hold back, I can handle the truth. *gets up on the edge of a bridge* Really, I can handle it…nothing rash will come of it…really…

And now some informative footnotes!

I wanted to actually put the Kanji to Kawasaki in here, but I don't have a Japanese character option on my laptop and the only examples of the Kanji for it I found were pictures, which I don't think you can insert into your fan fictions successfully while putting them on . So you will have to look up the Kanji yourself. As to why Kimi wears this on her shirt…well logos are all the rage right? *cricket, cricket* yeah…

The only roller blades I ever saw or owned growing up were the ones that snap in place like clips instead of any lacing. Some roller blades still have laces, right? It's not just roller skates, is it?

Does anyone remember if Gisela heals people in a Medic ward or hall while in the castle? What's it generally referred to as? Can I just keep saying medic ward? It's been a while since I've seen any particular seen of her healing in action. Usually I see her in someone's room healing them. But all the fan fictions I read had her having a specific place people go to be treated.

This is of course a shout out to a fav story of mine, The Pit and the Pendulum, by Edgar Allen Poe. The Pendulum was a weight that suspended from a pivot, when given a blade it was used for torturous execution, as it would slowly lower as it swings, cutting deeper and deeper until the person either died from blood loss or being severed in two.

What is the name of Anissina's translator invention? Anyone know?

This is the call Wolfram uses in the second episode of the anime to summon his flames. It differs in the manga slightly.

Well, I guess some of those were more question footnotes than informative, huh? Ah well. Nobody's perfect. I have to tell you, getting back on my feet and writing this wasn't easy for me and I really appreciate all of you who have stuck with me. It was about as easy as it is to start flossing (which hardly anyone really does that often, come on. Stop fooling yourself, dentist). Never the less, I love writing, so it was hardly a burden once the creative juices were flowing. I'm serious, get a mop; I had some real hardcore creativity on my hands here. Creatively hauled up in my room…alone…by my lonesome…*Ahem* Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed reading this chapter just as much as I enjoyed writing it. *Hugs all around, folks*

R and R please.

~Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland


	5. Chapter 4: Anything for a Quiet Life

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, which sucks since Takabayashi deemed it a good decision to end the KKM series after the third season. Is a 4th season so much to ask for? Is it really?

Yes everyone, I have returned. I sincerely apologize for taking such a long hiatus on my writing without letting anyone know that I was putting my writing on hold at all. The summer I posted the last chapter (last summer) was the beginning of my final year of college. I wanted to focus on making that year the best and most memorable it could be in a positive manner. I am proud to say I accomplished those goals and am now a respectable graduate of a four year college! I suppose you are wondering why I still didn't write the next chapter after having graduated, what with a summer to fiddle around with it in. Well in order to get my degree, there were three more credits I needed for my minor that would require a summer course…so I figured if I have to take a summer course at all, why not go travel away from home and make an excursion of it? So I spent some time in Dublin and Tipperary to complete my degree and came back with some great memories (and a tattoo). I'm settled back in at home, out of college and preparing for the world of careers and finally have some down time to type in.

So the cat's out of the bag. Kimi is a girl, a very unshapely, flat-as-a-surfboard young girl. Not really the one you could peg as a prophecy fulfilling warrior, is she? I'm sure she doesn't think so either. I'm still looking for a beta to my chapters so if anyone knows of someone, point them my way. On with the show!

Chapter Four

Anything for a Quiet Life

_'Ow, my head…'_ Yuuri woke up to a blindingly bright room and a killer headache. Groaning, the king of the demon world threw an arm across his face and rolled over into his pillow. His head gave another painful throb right across his forehead and around to his right temple, making him curl tighter into the pillow and release a muffled whimper. After a brief few moments of deep breathes and waiting for the pain to fade to a bearable level, he managed to pry his face off of the pillow and struggle into a sitting position to blearily look around the room. By the looks of it, it was somewhere around the late morning or early afternoon, the sunlight spilling in from the large, wide windows and pouring out across the floor to bathe the room in a bright warm glow. Yuuri was surprised he hadn't woke soon. Another sharp ache of his head, painfully reminded Yuuri why he had even woke up at all. "Ugh," he rubbed the side of his head tenderly, "what hit me?" he groaned. His eyes roved over to the other side of the bed. "Oh that's right", he muttered, "_he_ did." Yuuri stared in half amused at young demon lying next to him clad in…Yuuri blinked. Where was Wolfram's frilly, pink nightgown?

The fire wielder lying face down in his pillow beside Yuuri was wearing his tailored blue uniform, only it was far less presentable than how Wolfram would usually allow himself to be seen in it. The collar was turned up rather than down and one of the edges was rolled back. There were wrinkles criss-crossing every which way across the back of the jacket and one of the pant legs had managed to get rolled up around the ankle. He only had one sock on, the other sticking out of the polished boot hanging precariously off the edge of the bed. Leaning over slightly, Yuuri could just make out the other boot lying on its side just off to the side of the bed.

'_He must have slept in his uniform_,' Yuuri glanced at his own black suited self. '_I guess I did too_.' He was looking a little on the shabby side himself, wrinkles and all. Yuuri picked at the strange stain on the front of his own jacket. "What the?" It was more of a crusted over grime, whatever it was apparently was see through like water but had dried solid to the fabric. "Okay this is going to the maids to wash right away," Yuuri declared, "Why did I even wear this to bed last night? And Wolfram's a little too concerned with proper conduct to risk being seen so sloppy, so why would he have gone to bed without changing?" Yuuri frowned. "Come to think of it, why can't I remember even going to bed last night? And wait a minute!" Yuuri turned back to the sleeping blonde beside him. "Why haven't am I still in the bed and not on the floor?"

Strangely enough, Yuuri apparently managed a night's sleep without waking from a meeting with the hard, unforgiving floor. Usually Wolfram would have managed to gain a large sum of territory across the bed in his erratic sleeping patterns. More often than not this would result in the unceremonious expelling of his fiancé from the bed with a well place kick. This particular morning, however, Yuuri was in no such floor related predicament because, by the looks of things, Wolfram had barely moved at all. It was a welcome change of circumstances as such constant shoves over the side of the bed were always a bit painful to experience and with the headache Yuuri woke up with, the addition of a fall to the floor surely would have only made how he felt worse. But still, Wolfram's new sleeping behavior was odd. Wolfram was lying very still on the bed, his face hidden in his pillow. There appeared to even be a slight indent of his body pressed into the mattress around him from not moving from that position for quite awhile.

Yuuri leaned over the blonde and doubled check that he was actually breathing. "Geeze, he sleeps like he's dead…" he mused aloud.

The doors clicking closed sounded from the other side of the room. "That's because he was pretty exhausted from the excitement last night and getting to bed so late, Heika." Conrad stood just beyond the threshold of the doorway, smile present if not a tad more relaxed from tiredness. "As it is, he barely made it to bed last night before practically passing out." He strolled forward into the room and up to Yuuri's side of the bed, letting the doors swing closed behind him.

"It's Yuuri, Conrad," Yuuri reprimanded with small grin. "And I suppose that makes sense. Yesterday…er, last night was pretty eventful for us all wasn't it? But," he spared a side glance at Wolfram, "but, if Wolf was too tired to even move around in his sleep last night, then," he paused to wince at the ever present throbbing of his skull making itself known once more with a particularly hard flare of pain, "then how did his clothes get so messed up?" He rubbed at his head in an attempt to soothe the pain.

Conrad's look amused as the corners of his smile turned up a little more. "That would be because he got that way prior to reaching your room. In last night's…_incident_." The laughter in his eyes increased as Yuuri face turned bright red. "It's also how you got that headache, I imagine."

Yuuri grinned sheepishly, "Yeah, that…that was definitely not fun. I forgot Wolf can hit pretty hard when he wants to."

"Oh Wolfram didn't hit you, Heik-Yuuri," Conrad corrected himself. "He tried to, don't be mistaken, but I believe you got that headache from our guest, Miss Kim Lee throwing a medical one of healing books at you."

"Oh that's right," Yuuri recalled. "She threw quite a few things at me. So which book did she throw?" He was almost dreading the answer.

"The big one."

"Ah…so why can't I remember going to bed last night?"

"That book was what knocked you out, Yuuri."

"Wow." Yuuri was stunned. "And the stain on my shirt?"

Conrad inspected the crusty residue on said shirt. "I believe that is from the bottle of salve Miss Kim Lee tossed in your direction as well."

"Oh yeah. I remember that. That must have been before the book. She sure can throw, can't she?"

Conrad hummed in agreement, still amused.

Yuuri face changed from sheepish to one of embarrassment and shame. He looked down at his lap and picked at the lint on his pants, looking for all the world like a child caught disappointing their parents. "So…is she still mad?"

"She is still being kept in the healing wing with Gisela for now while her neck heals. I haven't been to see her personally yet, but from what I have gathered, she is still less than pleased."

Yuuri's shoulders slumped. He looked at Wolfram from the corner of his eye. "And I suppose he will still be mad at me when he wakes up too."

Conrad patted his Godson on the back in comfort. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Yuuri. I'm sure that everyone involved understands that you didn't mean to and won't hold it against you for very long," he reassured Yuuri. "You just need to consider how uncomfortable the whole mess was. It was, I must admit, a rather awkward moment for anyone to go through."

_(Last night)_

_Yuuri rushed up to the ward doors and pushed them open with some effort, Wolfram and Murata at his heels. In the center of the room, a curtain had been drawn around the bed. "Sorry about this Gisela," he called out as he rushed over and pulled the fabric aside. "I just wanted to know if he was…"_

_Yuuri's brain shorted out._

_Gisela was sitting on a stool that she had pulled up next to the bed. Face frozen in shock, she had been in the process of checking Kimi's breathing._

_But that's not what Yuuri couldn't wrap his mind around._

_On the bed sat Kimi, staring at Yuuri looking completely horrified. The hoodie had been removed and was lying on the mattress next to a white tank top Kimi must have been wearing under it._

_But instead of Yuuri looking a bare back, he was looking at pale skin and the thin fabric of a training bra…_

_"Uh…" Yuuri stumbled back several steps hastily, his mouth hanging open._

"_Oh my god!" Kimi screeched, snatching her tank top up and holding it against chest like a shield. "What the hell are you doing?"_

_Yuuri could hear the footsteps of Wolfram and Murata as caught up with him. _

_Wolfram came to a halt next to Yuuri. His eyes roamed over his slacked jawed fiancé and the young girl on the bed…girl on the bed…a girl, Kimi, half naked on the bed…And Wolfram's staring fiancé…_

_3…2…1…_

"_YUURI YOU CHEATER!"_

"_Wait, Wolf" Yuuri stuttered. "It's not what you think." He ducked out of the way of Wolfram's swinging fists. "Honest, Wolf."_

_Steam was steadily emanating from the fire wielder's clenched fists as he took another swing at Yuuri. "Hold still you unfaithful wimp!"_

_Murata chuckled. "Well I guess the cat's out of the bag now, eh Shibuya?" _

"_Cheating wimp!"_

"_Wait Wolfram, calm down," Yuuri placated his hands held out in front of him as he rushed to try and take shelter behind Murata over by the door. "Hang on," he turned on the Great Sage. "Murata, you knew she was a girl?" at his friends smirk he scowled heavily. "Why didn't you say anything sooner then? And—ouch! Take it easy, Wolfram. Let's be rational about this."_

_Wolfram was bearing down on Yuuri is flames coming from both hands._

"_This isn't what it looks like," Yuuri continued. "I mean, I just got here a few seconds before you did. I'm just as surprised as you are. It's the truth—hey!" Yuuri managed to jumped out of the way of a glass jar flew past him. "What the?"_

"_Get out!" Kimi shrieked, tank top still pressed protectively to her chest. She reached for another object to throw at them from the selection of medical supplies laid out on the tray next to her bed. This time she grasped a box containing gauze bandages. "Get out of here!" she hurled it at Yuuri's, the box narrowly missing his face by a few inches. It grazed the side of Wolfram's shoulder, distracting him momentarily from his own rage at Yuuri._

"_Hey!" he yelled. "Watch where you throw those things!"_

"_Get out, get out, get out!" Kimi snatched her pillow up from the bed and chucked at the trio in the doorway. It sailed through the air before smacking a still chuckling Murata in the head, effectively wiping that smug grin right off his face. "Go away!" She picked up a jar of smelling salts_

"_Whoa!" Yuuri step out of the way of the flying jar. It landed in the hallway behind them with a thud. "I'm sorry, Kimi. Just let me explain.!"_

_A salve bottle flew past his head to collide with the doorframe, bursting apart and splashing the front of Yuuri's shirt with the watery contents inside. "Get out!"_

"_Wait, just let me explain myself! This is all a big misunderstanding."_

"_Get out, get out, get out!"_

"_But—"_

"_GETOUTGETOUTGETOUTGETOUT!"_

"_Hang on, I—"_

_A large, heavy, leather clad tome connected with the side of Yuuri's head. The last thing he heard before everything went black was, "I said get out!"_

(Presently)

"Ah man, that was a disaster," Yuuri sulked.

"It did not go over very well, yes," Conrad agreed. "but that doesn't mean it was a disaster. Once Miss Kim Lee has cooled down a bit, I'm sure you can clear the whole mess up."

"You sure?" Yuuri asked. Kimi certainly looked fit to be tied last night. Yuuri was doubtful she would be in a very talkative mood with him today. He'd be lucky if he could successfully convince her that he wasn't the Peeping Tom she probably pegged him to be (if he were to be perfectly honest, she had more to worry about as far as perversion when in the presence of the pervy sage).

Conrad gave Yuuri's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Positive. I imagine Miss Kim Lee was more embarrassed than anything. Being walked in upon in such a state of undress is awkward for anyone, and a young girl would especially find it upsetting. We'll stop by later and you can explain to her that it was an accident. I'm sure she'll understand."

"I guess you're right. So…what about him?" Yuuri pointed to the slumbering male besides him.

Said male snorted slightly into his pillow, causing a soft down feather to shoot up into the air and then lightly float back down onto the back of his head.

Yuuri and Conrad shared a smile before the latter sober up. "Wolfram rarely stays mad at you for long these days, Yuuri. He doesn't throw out accusations at you as often as he used to. It's just, well," Conrad looked torn being a smile and a cringe. "Well he used to accuse you of cheating many times in the past for just talking to a girl in the hallway. This time he found you in the same room as one who was undressed. It's the first time he's ever wandered into a situation that could understandably be misinterpreted for once."

"Yeah, I know it looked bad," Yuuri stammered. "But what Wolfram seemed to think was going on wasn't even possible. I only walked in a few _seconds_ before him! Anything he could have possibly thought was happening or was going to happen wasn't physically possible in such short time." Yuuri paused and then gave Conrad a scandalous look. "And even if there had been time, I wouldn't have done _anything!_"

"Calm down, Yuuri." Conrad gave Yuuri another pat on the back. "Wolfram knows that, I'm sure. In fact," Conrad titled his head to the side in thought, "I would bet anything that if he is mad at all today, it'll probably be to cover up his embarrassment about having overreacted."

Yuuri sighed. "I hope so. Because believe me there is nothing I'd rather avoid more than a pissed off," a muffled yawn interrupted him. Yuuri hesitated and glanced over to his side with wide eyes. "…Wolfram," he finished.

With much groaning and rustling, Wolfram rolled over unto his back. He stretched his arms over his head and yawn, the muscles in his back popping as he worked out the stiffness in his arms and back.

Yuuri slapped on an innocent smile, the last thing he needed was for Wolfram to know he was talking about him behind his back. That would not go over well. "H-hey, Wolfram. Sleep well."

"Mmmph, more like I barely slept at all." Wolfram rubbed at his eyes and opened his mouth to let out another little yawn. It was almost kittenish in the way he rubbed his face and snuggled into the blankets more. Yuuri could almost imagine little fangs and furry ears on him.

Conrad could imagine it as well. Despite being well into his eighties, Wolfram was still one of the most adorable things Conrad could remember seeing. There was always this pouty little innocent boy reflected in his face and mannerisms whenever Conrad saw him. It was the same reason Gwendal didn't spend as much time with Wolfram anymore. His penchant for cute things was his greatest weakness and the last thing he needed was to be caught cooing over his baby brother. And it was very doubtful Wolfram would appreciate being fawned over in public by any member of his family anyway. He got enough of that from their mother as it was. He got enough of that from their mother as it was, coddling him in over dramatic displays of affection and praising his looks, how much he looked like her.

And he truly did. The entire kingdom was aware of the striking resemblance between Wolfram Von Bielefeld and the lovely former Demon Queen. Sometimes, Conrad found himself quite thankful that his baby brother was already engaged to someone as naïve and innocent as their King. It certainly cut off a great deal of the line of suitors that would wish to pursue his brother, often seeking to use his noble status to their advantage and carrying lecherous and impure thoughts for his beautiful and corruptible looks. "We did let you and his Majesty stay in today in order to catch up on your sleep, Wolfram," Conrad chided gently.

"Well it sure doesn't feel like it," Wolfram grumbled. He rolled over onto his side facing his brother and Yuuri. "Wimp, why were you chatting on about so loudly? Don't you know it's rude to disturb someone's sleep like that?" He tugged Yuuri's pillow over to him and curled up into it, muttering "wimp" again as he closed his eyes.

Yuuri let out a sigh of relief and smiled, it seemed Wolfram wasn't as upset as he was last night. He wasn't jumping right into another argument about it at least. "Sorry about that, Wolf. I was trying to keep it down. I was just telling Conrad about the headache I have." That shouldn't stir up any conflict, right? Just a casual conversation about a little headache.

Wolfram cracked one deep green eye open and peered at Yuuri curiously. "Must have taken quite a hit from that _book_ last night, hm?" he asked.

Yuuri's smile slid right off his face. It seemed Wolfram was very much aware of the incident last night, even while being groggy from just waking up. Maybe Yuuri shouldn't have said anything at all. "Hah…so y-you remember that," he chuckled nervously.

Wolfram sat up and crossed his arms over his chest. "How could I forget?" he asked. He turned his head away from Yuuri and look over his opposite shoulder. "Cheater," he muttered.

'_He's pouting_,' Yuuri thought. '_Well, that's better than yelling or trying flambé me_.' It appeared that Yuuri wouldn't have to deal with another yelling session and for that he was relieved, but still Yuuri couldn't help but feel bad that Wolfram seemed so upset about last night…though he couldn't imagine why. The whole thing was an accident and. It wasn't like Wolfram's reputation was at stake like all the other times he claimed it was by Yuuri being a so called 'flirt' (which he wasn't) in public. The only people who truly played witness to the whole incident were Wolfram, Gisela, Kimi and himself and they weren't going to go around gossiping about it. It had been so late at night that there was barely anyone up and there was no one in the hall to overhear. Conrad and the others must have come back to the room when they heard the screaming since Conrad seemed very well informed out what occurred, but they must have shown up after Yuuri was knocked out since he couldn't recall seeing them. And surely Kimi had covered up by then, right? So Wolfram had no reason to be worried or upset for how this would come off to the public. Still, Yuuri felt bad to see Wolfram so bothered by all this.

"Listen, Wolf," Yuuri began. "Wolfram, I…I'm sorry that I upset you. It honestly was an accident. I had no way of knowing that that would happen. I know it looked bad, but no one was around to see it but us for once. It was between shifts with the guards so none of them were around to know about. No guards mean no maids to cause any stir in the gossip." He reached out and placed a hand on Wolfram's shoulder. "You see? There's nothing to worry about. I know our engagement has reflection on aristocratic standing, but this time we're good. You're reputation is going to be affected by this 'cause no one knows about it. I'm sure Gwendal and the others will keep it just between all of us." He looked at his godfather for reassurance. "Right, Conrad?"

"I assure you we won't say a thing. Last thing we want is for Mother to get involved and cause more of a stir," Conrad replied with a nod.

"There, now," Yuuri said. "So there will be no gossip getting back to the nobles. Your reputation's safe Wolfram. No need to be worried."

"Yeah…" Wolfram said slowly, a far off look in his eyes. "My reputation. That's what I'm upset about." Wolfram closed his eyes for a moment and smiled at Yuuri. "Got to represent the Bielefeld title with the upmost dignity, right? I'm sorry I over reacted, Yuuri. Old habits die hard."

Conrad couldn't help but notice how Wolfram's smile seemed somewhat forced. He recognized that expression quite well. It was the one he made when thinking about his comrades from the Lütenburg platoon, the battle of Arnold that cost those men their lives. It was the face he wore when Yuuri would enquire about Suzanna Julia, who's soul resided in their young king, a soul he hand delivered after the gentlewoman's passing. It was a guise to mask pain, eyes closed so that no one would catch a glimpse of truth reflected in them. Wolfram wore it now, as Conrad had seen him do so in recent months. Yuuri seemed oblivious to the lack of sincerity in Wolfram's voice and Conrad was not sure if that was a good thing or not. "Wolfram…"

"I'm glad to hear that," Yuuri cut in, oblivious still of the slight tension in the air. "I've gotta say, Wolf, I like it better when we are on speaking terms. It's no fun when you're mad at me." He leaned forward a little with a grin. "Sooo," he prodded, "am I forgiven?"

Wolfram scooted away from him and stuck his nose up, acting more like his old self. "You're forgiven, for now," he sniffed. "I suppose I shouldn't have gotten so worked up." He smirked, "If I let myself get so worked up every time you flirt around with other men and women, I'd work myself into an early grave." He gave Yuuri a playful, but forceful shove and laughed when he fell over with an indignant squawk. "Cheating wimp."

"Woah!" Yuuri flailed his arms and attempted to steady himself, only to succeed in upsetting his balance more and falling right off the side of the bed. Conrad just managed catch him by the arm before he hit the floor and bring him to his feet.

"Geeze, Wolfram," Yuuri groaned at the blonde still on the bed. "I know you didn't get to kick me out of bed last night, but that doesn't mean you need to make up for it now. And how many times do I have to say it, I'm not a cheater!"

"I'll believe you when you stop flirting with everything with legs!" Wolfram declared heatedly, kneeling on the bed and placing his hands on his hips. "If you want me to stop calling you that then stop being a letcher!"

"I already told you, I'm not!" Yuuri fixed Wolfram with what he hoped was an intimidating glare. Wolfram glared back with just as much, if not more ire.

This staring contest would have continue for quite a while if the sound of the doors swinging open with a bang and the shrill cry of "Heika!" hadn't rung out through the air at that moment, causing them both to jump in shock and turn.

Gunter stood in the doorway, both arms stretched out holding the doors open. As with his usual dramatic entrance, he was panting heavily like he had run the entire length of the castle to get to the royal bedroom, a bit of sweat beading on his brow. His face was one of someone who had just been informed that their beloved pet had died and his lavender hair fell about his face in less than his usual standards of appearance.

"Oh, Heika!" the flamboyant man cried. He rushed forward in a flurry of white robes and swept Yuuri up into a crushing embrace. "Your Majesty, I sincerely apologize for not having come to you sooner. When we were all given permission to sleep in after last night's excitement, I, your ever faithful, diligent servant, naturally planned to wake up well before you so that I may come to wake you when you were properly rested, making sure that the first face you saw was that of your most devoted subject." He looked off into the distant over Yuuri's shoulder, a glazed look in his eyes. "I had it all planned out, your Majesty. I would go to the kitchens and arrange an absolutely delicious breakfast to be prepared for you. From there I would prepare your lesson plan for today, starting with a recap of the customary greetings for foreign dignitaries. Then I would come here to welcome you to brand new day! Oh, but I overslept well past the hour I intended to get up this morning. I have only now made it to you and you are already awake." He clutched Yuuri tighter to him and let out a sob. "I have neglected my duties as your trusted adviser. Oh can you ever forgive me, Heika?"

"Technically, your duties as an adviser to his Majesty do not included handling his breakfast menu or waking him each morning, Gunter," Conrad reminded him.

"There is nothing wrong with going to the extra mile for one's glorious king, Conrad," Gunter replied amidst his own wails. He turned to regard the double black in his arms. "But I have failed you, Heika! Please know that I never meant to leave to without my assistance." He hid his face against Yuuri's neck, his shoulders shaking as he wept dramatically.

"Gunter…" Yuuri croaked. "Gunter…can't…breathe…" He wriggled this way and that to try and escape the grasp of his teacher.

"Gunter!" Wolfram yelled, his cheeks turning red to see Gunter touching Yuuri so freely. "Gunter, you let go of him this instant. Do you hear me? Get your hands off him before I—," he trailed off looking between Gunter and his wimp of a fiancé, who was making very little effort to outright tell the man his embrace was not appreciated and was instead simply trying to get him to loosen his grip at this point. Wolfram took a deep breath and exhaled slowly to calm himself down. "You know what? Never mind this," he exclaimed, causing the other occupants of the room to look at him. "Just never mind. I have more important and productive things to do than stay here and be a part of such…_insanity!_" All eyes still on him, the demon prince got off of the bed and strode across the room to the bureau.

"W-where're you going, Wolf?" Yuuri managed to ask, still trapped suffocating in Gunter's hold, the lavender haired man no too distracted by the unusual outburst to realize he had yet to relinquish his hold on Yuuri, or that he was even still holding his beloved king at all.

Wolfram simply 'hmphed'. He went about gather one of his clean spare uniforms (to replace the one he slept in) as well as a towel or two from the linen drawers. "To the baths. I have no time for this stupid nonsense." He headed over to the doors and stood in the doorway momentarily, a hand on the wooden frame as he regarded Yuuri. "Try not to ruin 'ruin my reputation' while I'm gone," he stormed out of the room and down the hallway, the doors swinging closed behind him. "Wimp!"

"Wait," Yuuri finally managed to wrestle himself out of Gunter's grasp. He stumbled forward a bit and then rushed across the room. "Wolfram, wait. You just told me you weren't upset anymore. Don't get mad again!" He stopped by the bureau as well and scooped up a clean change of clothes and a towel of his own. "I'll go with you. Come on, let's talk about this. Don't give me the silent treatment."

"We'll have the maids bring some breakfast up to your room for when you two return, Heika," Conrad called after Yuuri's retreating back.

"Sounds good, Conrad," Yuuri replied hurriedly, waving a hand over his shoulder. "And it's 'Yuuri'!" He headed out into the hall after his fuming companion. "Wolfram, wait for me!"

Gunter chuckled. "My, it has certainly been a while since we've seen such a display from Little Lord Bra—I mean, Lord Von Bielefeld," he corrected himself. That was still a hard nickname to let go of, he had actually grown fond of calling Wolfram that over the years. One could say it was almost a term of endearment at this point to call the strong willed young prince.

"Yes," Conrad agreed as they walked out of room to prepare the boys late breakfast. "But did you notice that it seemed to lack the usual heat his fighting used to have?"

Gunter nodded his head. "I had noticed that, only a short time ago he would never tolerate me hugging his Majesty. And he used to lash out at every lord or lady who dared approach Yuuri in an overly friendly manner. But in just this last year, he has pulled back on that behavior quite a fair amount," he paused before turning to Conrad with a raise brow. "Well, except for last night."

"Well, I think Wolfram will always feel a bit insecure with trusting Yuuri around new people for the first time. Encounters with people like King Saralegi have given him a legitimate reason to be concerned." Gunter hummed in understanding at this. "But you're right," Conrad continued. "He has changed his behavior quite significantly as of late."

Gunter tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps he is growing up," he suggested. "He has matured quite a bit since first meeting his Majesty. In fact it has changed him quite for the better over the years. Perhaps this is just another way he is maturing."

"I would like to think that was the case," Conrad replied. "But I can't help but wonder if it is also because Wolfram is becoming a tad discouraged of where he stands with Heika. Their engagement has held for several years now and Yuuri has made no indication of either ending it."

You know there's very little we can do about that," Gunter reminded. "It is his Majesty's choice what to be done in his engagement and we are sworn to follow our King. From what I've heard in the past, Earth has many hang-ups with same sex marriages."

Conrad nodded. "I understand that and I do not wish to interfere with our Majesty's personal affairs if he does not wish it. I just wish that there was a way for those two to come to some sort of understanding. I do not wish to see either of them hurt by this. I only wish for their happiness."

"As do I," Gunter stated. "But it is for Heika as our king to decide. He made the proposal originally and therefore the power to end it or commit to it is in his hands. First he will have to come to terms with the biased teaching he learned on Earth and how their social norms do not apply here." Gunter slapped a hand to his forehead and swooned dramatically, "To think such backwards ways have been drilled into his Majesty's head since childhood. That a union between two men would be viewed with such disdain, I just can't bear it. If only his Majesty would toss aside such prejudice ideas, then he would be able to see that I, his humble servant, ask for nothing but his returned affections!"

"Really, Gunter, you're too much," Conrad chuckled. "Don't you think Heika might be a little too young for you? Besides," he teased, "is Yuuri really the one you're after? Are you sure this isn't someone else somewhere in the castle whose affections you crave? Hmmm?"

"I-well, I," Gunter sputtered, quickly turning a blushing shade of red. "I have absolutely no idea what you mean. My heart is utterly devoted to his Majesty. And you're one to talk!" he pointed accusingly at the other. "I happen to know for a fact that you've had your eye on a certain redhead!"

Conrad gave him one of his unreadable smiles as they headed to the kitchens. "Why, I assure you I have no idea what you're talking about, Gunter…"

**Thisisaline**

**Thisisonetoo  
**

Breakfast was a quiet event. Wolfram has successfully managed to go through his entire bath without speaking a word to Yuuri, ensuring the Maoh kept a distance of ten feet from him in the bath at all times with the silent threaten to roast him to a crisp if he dared try and come any closer. Yuuri had attempt several times to speak reason to Wolfram, but soon grew tired of talking to himself; with how thick and obscuring the steam in the royal baths was and how unresponsive Wolfram was being, it had truly felt like he was all alone in there and simply talking aloud to an empty room. Even the walk back to their room where their meals awaited them, Wolfram made no move to thaw out the cold shoulder he was giving Yuuri, instead choosing to glare at the boy when any attempts at reconciliation were made. When they made it back to their bedroom, Wolfram just walked straight to his the tray containing their breakfast, scooped up one of the plates off the tray and moved to the writing desk to enjoy his meal as far away from his fiancé as possible.

They were halfway through their breakfast before Yuuri once again took up his attempts to talk with a decidedly stoic fiancé. Yuuri was sitting on the edge of the bed with the tray to sample from the selection of pasties and jams and Wolfram was nibbling politely on some fruit at the desk. Yuuri had tried several times to catch Wolfram's eyes to no avail, whenever his eyes strayed over to the blonde, Wolfram would suddenly became quite interested with inspecting the patterns in the desk made by the grain of the Mahogany. Once or twice he had even whipped his around to stare up at one of the corners of the ceiling, an over exaggerated swing of his head as he feigned obliviousness to the fact that Yuuri wanted his attention at all. The whole routine was becoming annoying and Yuuri had had enough of it.

Yuuri set down the jam covered biscuit he had been eating and sighed. "Listen, Wolf, you can try and ignore me all you want, but we both know that you'll have to talk to me eventually." He received no response to this; big surprise there. "You know I'm right. We see each other every day, how do you expect to go about avoiding me?" Still nothing. Yuuri crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "Well I suppose we could ask Gwendal to relay anything worth say back and forth between us. I'm sure _that_ will go over well," he added with a grin, "I'm sure playing messenger for his stubborn little brother won't be a problem at all, right?"

Wolfram delicately placed his fork down on the desk and pushed his bowl of fruit away from him. He took his time chewing and swallowing the bit of purple apple (1) he had bitten into, all the while watching out of the corner of his eye as Yuuri squirmed uncomfortably in the lingering silence between them. Finally Wolfram spoke. "And we all know who will be blamed for starting this whole mess, won't we?"

While Yuuri was relieved to have Wolfram speaking to him again, the satisfaction hidden in the blondes tone made him apprehensive. "No," he said slowly and hesitantly, "who?"

"Why, the wimp of course," Wolfram stated matter of factly. "The very same wimp who screwed up again of his own accord and has rightfully earned the scorn of Gwendal's 'stubborn little brother' and is yet again to much of a coward to solve his own problems, therefore opting to run and pester Lord von Voltaire into fighting his battles for him." Wolfram turned to smirk at Yuuri. "Yes," he added smugly, "I'm sure Gwendal will be very displeased with said wimp for bothering him."

"But you're the reason I would be bothering him!" Yuuri pointed out in irritation. "You started the whole mess, it's your faul—," Yuuri trailed off. Wolfram was grinning arrogantly at him. He wanted Yuuri to be the one flipping out for once; that was his intention. And Yuuri had played right into his hands. Yuuri slapped a hand over his face and dragged it down of his mouth and nose slowly, rolling his eyes. He sighed and lay back to sprawl across the bed. "Whatever," he muttered. "All that matters is you're talking to me again. Which is good," he stood from the bed and crossed the room to the desk Wolfram sat at, "because we need to go see Kimi and apologize for last night." He pointed to Wolfram's plate. "Are you finished?"

"Yes, I'm done," Wolfram snapped, throwing down his napkin onto his plate as he stood, "And I will not go and apologize. Why should? I'm not the one who did anything wrong." He jabbed Yuuri in the chest with a manicured finger. "_You_ were the one who barged in on her without any warning. You are the one who needs to explain yourself."

"But Wolfram, you came in right after that," Yuuri pointed out. "As did Murata. I know you were more focused on yelling at me, but as far as Kimi is concerned there were three teenage boys who saw her with her shirt off," he held up a hand to quiet Wolfram when he went to protest. "She doesn't know about the demon age thing yet, to her you were a teenager. Anyway, can't you just come and make nice."

"I shouldn't have to," Wolfram insisted.

"Please, Wolf," Yuuri pleaded. "She's probably embarrassed. She was really upset last night. Think about how she feels," he reasoned, "She dragged from in own world and into one she has never heard of or even believed existed. She couldn't even understand us when she first got here. She's lost and scared and I don't think us walking in on her made things any easier to handle."

Wolfram seemed to be considered Yuuri's words, his brows furrowed and his eyes pointed at the floor. "I guess…"

"Wolfram, imagine how you would feel if people walked in on you while you were undressed?"

That got Wolfram thinking. Before becoming Yuuri's fiancé, Wolfram suffered from a severe overhaul of persistent male suitors, some more troublesome than others and all clamoring for a piece of his noble title and to bask in his beauty. One more than one occasion, a bold suitor would find their way into his bedroom and wait for his arrival when he came to prepare for bed. Two or three of these bold suitors had waited until he was changing to burst out and declare their love to him. This resulted in more than one case of gentleman caller flambé and Gwendal taking it upon himself to read through and reject just about all letters of marriages proposal to his baby brother from then on.

Wolfram shuddered; he was no doubt thinking about those times of courting chaos. "I see your point," he declared, stepping around Yuuri and walking out of the room.

Yuuri hasten after him. "Wolf?"

"You're right," Wolfram continued, heading in the direction of Gisela's Medic ward, "We should at least stop by to inform her that we meant no disrespect. As it is we should apologize on Murata's behalf. If we let him do it himself, that lecherous sage will no doubt just make her feel more uncomfortable." He grabbed Yuuri by the arm and tugged him along, moving a bit faster. "Shinou knows the last thing we need is Geika hitting on yet another girl in this castle."

"Oh come on, Wolfram," Yuuri interjected, "Murata's not that bad."

Wolfram stopped and cocked an eyebrow at him.

"…yeah, you're right," Yuuri relented.

Both stared at each other for a moment before bursting out laughing.

"Let's get going," Yuuri giggled.

The two set off again at a steady pace, chatting more much amiably along the way.

Halfway down the hall, they passed a pair of maids carrying a basket of dirty linens and whispering excitably. They bowed respectfully to the royal pair as they walked by and continued with their conversation.

"Did you see her eyes?" asked one of the maids. "They're like little obsidian stones."

"But not as nice as his majesty's," replied the other, "or Geika's. Their eyes shine like black pearls, so regal."

"Oh, of course. No contest. What about her hair?"

"It's so dark; it reminds me of a raven."

"Yes, definitely..."

They continued to whisper back and forth as they rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight.

Yuuri laughed, "it sounds like those two have met our guest. They must have come from the hospital wing."

"Sounds like it," Wolfram snorted, "and I'll bet you anything that once it gets back to Sangria and the others, those four will most likely be snooping around the hospital wing themselves."

"No question. I have to admit it is a real relief to have Kimi here," Yuuri said. "I mean, if her arrival causes a big enough fuss that I am allowed a day off from signing and sorting paperwork with Gwendal, than I am more than grateful."

Wolfram rolled his eyes, "Wimp. You shouldn't neglect you duties as a King so often," he scolded. "Those forms and papers you go through each day are just as important as your work as keeping the peace and settling disputes. In fact, some of those forms help regulate many of the ins and outs of Shin Makoku, as well as settle and officiate many legal matters that would otherwise end in disputes." He waved his finger in front of him to dictate his point. "Your word is law, Yuuri and one of the main ways your word reaches the whole of Shin Makoku's citizens is through the decrees you sign and the proposals you approve."

"Anyway," Wolfram continued, "I for one am quite unhappy with how much our guest's arrival has disrupted my daily routine. My soldiers rarely train without my supervision. They've no doubt lost an entire morning's work session." He slapped his fist into the open palm of his other hand. "I'll have to double their training exercises for the afternoon session," he said resolutely.

"Can't you let them have one day off, Wolf," Yuuri asked. "They're out there every day working their butts off in technique exercises." He smiled wryly, "You're going to run them ragged."

"Hmph, if they can't handle my routines, then they're not fit to defend the kingdom."

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Yuuri implored. "They need some time to relax and have fun from time to time. You do too."

"I do not need any more leisure than I already have," Wolfram defended. "Besides, it is the duty of every soldier's abilities to be up to par. Only then can they guarantee-,"

"Guarantee the safety of the kingdom's subjects." The royal couple turned to find the bespectacled Great Sage making his way towards them. "That's what you were going to say, wasn't it, Lord von Bielefeld?" he asked with that same infuriating smile of his, the one that reads, 'I might know something you don't know, nyah-nyah!' (A.N/ Come on we all know that's what goes on in his head!)

"Murata," Yuuri exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"I spent the night in the castle after we brought Kimi into Gisela's care," replied Murata, casually strolling up to them to join them on their walk. "Remember, Shibuya?"

"I know _that_," Yuuri said, rolling his eyes. "I mean what are you up to?"

"Yeah," Wolfram added, "I would have thought that you'd be preparing to return to the Temple of the Great One."

"Ah, but then I would miss out on getting to know our new arrival," Murata pointed out. "That is where you are headed now, correct. I think I will join you."

"Murata, you better not try anything with her," Yuuri warned. "She's had a rough night. I still don't think she trusts us very much yet. Everything's new to her here."

Wolfram nodded. "Yeah, the last thing she needs right now is someone like you leering at her."

Murata chuckled. "Give me a little credit Lord von Bielefeld," he chided. "I would never pursue someone so innocent. She may be sixteen, but she looks far too young for my tastes." He paused as if he were still considering it. His two companions continued on without him, looking back over their shoulders at him. "It would be like dating Ulrike," he stated, picking up the pace to catch back up with them. "She may be well past eligible age, but she still looks like a little girl. Intimacy would be awkward as I'm sure you could imagine."

Yuuri blanched. "Murata, that's something I definitely don't want to imagine and I could have done without you putting that thought in my head."

Next to him, Wolfram smiled to himself, rather relieved to hear the temple priestess wasn't Yuuri's type. He hooked arms with Yuuri and placed a hand on his fiancé's shoulder. "Really, Murata," he said, leaning across Yuuri to the sage, his hold on the Maoh not loosening, "the very idea."

Murata noticed the hidden traces of triumph in the blonde's smile that even Wolfram himself didn't seem to realize were even there. '_Someone's certainly feeling better_,' he thought, '_nice to see some of that old confidence back_.' "Exactly, the very idea is absurd."

"It sure is," Wolfram agreed a bit more hotly than was necessary, a bit surer of himself now that he knew at least one person was taken off his list of competitors for Yuuri's affections. "Why would you even bring it up?"

"Seriously," Yuuri looked thoroughly uncomfortable with the subject. "She looks like a little girl. She thinks a bit like one too." He grimaced. "She's too innocent and kind to be looked at that way." He gestured in front of him with his hand, trying to put how awkward the idea was into words. "I-it would be like…like—,"

"It would be like someone wanting to court Greta!" Wolfram stated, the very thought scandalizing him as the words left his mouth. "Anyone who would dare think such impure thoughts about our daughter will surely have to deal with me. If I have anything to say about it, she won't marry until she's my age!" he swore, shaking a fist menacingly at nothing in particular.

Murata grinned. '_Considering she's human, you might want to let her start dating long before she's in her eighty's_,' he thought.

Yuuri gasped. "Greta! I completely forgot. We haven't told her about Kimi yet." He slapped a hand to his forehead. "Oh, I'm sure she'd loved to meet her."

"Actually, Shibuya from what I heard she was informed by Conrad this morning," Murata said. "She's been in the hospital wing since this morning, getting to know our visitor."

"What?"

**Thisisaline**

**Thisisonetoo  
**

When the trio finally arrived at Gisela's medic ward, they found Greta kneeling behind Kimi on the hospital bed, chattering away merrily and playing with the black haired girl's thin braid, Kimi looking decidedly baffled and awkwardly throwing in a word or two whenever the it seemed appropriate.

"It's so nice to have another girl around the castle," Greta declared happily. "Oh, no offense, Gisela," she added quickly, turning to the green haired healer sitting on a chair nearby writing in one of her medical journals, "I didn't mean it like that. You're always fun to play with."

Gisela smiled warmly at the little girl. "It's quite alright, Greta. I'm not offended. It's nice having someone around closer to your age, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Greta agreed. "I mean, there's Beatrice," she leaned over Kimi's shoulder, "you'd like Beatrice. She's from Cavalcade. She's really, really nice!"

"I-I'm sure she is," Kimi mumbled.

"My daddy (2) once saved her and her father from pirates."

"That's…um…really cool."

Greta hummed, pleased with her response. "She is, trust me. Anyway, Beatrice and I have fun together whenever she comes to visit, but she lives so far away that we don't get to see each other as often as I would like." She unbraided Kimi's strip of long hair and began combing her fingers through it. "I could do this all day." She paused and regarded the sleek strands. "What do you call this hairstyle again?" she asked.

"It's…uh…a-a rattail."

"That's still so neat," Greta exclaimed. "I don't think I've ever heard of that style before. Maybe I'll do something like that with my hair!"

"Over my dead body," Wolfram muttered.

Greta and Kimi turned at the sound of Wolfram's voice. Kimi took in the three males standing at the door and fixed them with a glare, drawing in on herself a bit and crossing her arms over her chest. Yeah, she definitely had not forgotten about last night's mishap.

"Papa Wolfram!" Greta cried, leaping off the bed. "And daddy Yuuri!" she ran to them arms outstretched. She threw herself at Wolfram and latched her arms around his waist. She hugged him tightly before doing the same to Yuuri. "And Murata," she stepped back from Yuuri when she noticed the Great Sage. "It's good to see you back so soon."

"You too, Princess," Murata replied. "I see you've met Kimi."

Greta nodded, beaming. "Uh-huh." She ran back over to Kimi and hopped back onto the bed behind her. "She's so wonderful!" Greta stated, hugging Kimi around the neck. "You really are," she told her.

Kimi smiled awkwardly. "Thanks. You…too?"

Greta giggled. "We've been spending the whole morning together," she told her fathers and Murata. "We even had breakfast together. The moment Conrad told me that there was a new girl in Blood Pledge, I rushed right over."

"In her nightgown, no less," Gisela added with a laugh.

Greta blushed. "I had the maids bring me a change of clothes." She continued playing with Kimi's hair. "But Kimi and I have been having so much fun together," she said gesturing to where some toys lay out across the floor next to the bed. "We played with dolls, and those jacks you gave me, Yuuri, and I read to her one of Anissina's books. I read to her!" she cried, obviously excited over this reversal. "And I did all the voices and sounds that you make for me when you read, papa Wolf."

The look on Kimi's face showed that she was clearly quite embarrassed to have anyone know she had been playing with dolls with a twelve year old girl (3).

"That's great, Greta," Wolfram said dotingly to his daughter. "But we were wondering if we could talk to Kimi for a moment? There are some things we didn't get to discuss last night that we would like to take care of now. That is if you two don't mind?" he asked Greta and Kimi.

"Not at all," Greta unintentionally cut off whatever Kimi was going to say. The redhead slid off of the bed and skipped to the door. "Take your time," she said. "I'm just going to grab some of my stuffed animals." She paused at the door to wave at Kimi. "I'll be back soon Kimi, then we can play some more!"

Kimi plastered a smile on her face and waved back. "…Looking forward to it. I'll be here, I guess."

Greta smiled one more time before leaving the room and shutting the door behind her.

Once the princess was gone, Yuuri, Murata and Wolfram found themselves locked in an intense staring contest with Kimi. An uncomfortable, prolonged silence stretched on for several moments while Gisela busied herself with sorting through her medical supplies so as to not eavesdrop…whenever it was that they would actually start talking at least.

Yuuri broke the silence with one of his trademark nervous laughs and friendly grins. "Well, uh, Kimi," he began, scratching the back of his neck out of habit, "First of all I think we owe you an apology for last night. It was my fault. I shouldn't have barged in on you like that." He gestured to his two friends. "Wolfram and Murata were just following after me, but they're sorry too." He turned to them, "Right guys?"

Murata nodded. "Yes, very sorry," he agreed, the a glare catching on his glasses and hiding his eyes.

Wolfram flicked his ear, in scolding, earning a small 'ow' from the sage.

"Right, Wolfram," Yuuri reiterated, elbowing his fiancé sharply in the ribs.

Wolfram glared at Yuuri but nevertheless shook his head in affirmation. "Sorry," he grumbled.

"How sincere," Kimi deadpanned.

"In my defense," Wolfram protested, "I didn't really look at all. I have no interest in ogling strange women." That earned him another elbow to the ribs, "You know what I mean," he defended with a pout.

Kimi eyed him warily, before turning her attention back to Yuuri.

"So," Yuuri said, coming forward and extending his hand to her, "can you forgive us?"

Kimi titled her head to the side and regarded Yuuri and his friends carefully. With her eyes narrowed in thought and the way she jutted her chin out as she looked down her nose at them had her doing an almost perfect impression of Wolfram when he and Yuuri first met. The only difference was her much more masculine she looked than Wolfram did while doing it.

"Okay," Kimi said finally.

Yuuri was midway through a sigh of relief when she spoke again.

"Okay, let's get a few things straight here, first," she said, hopping off of the bed and standing before Yuuri. She was noticeably shorter than the young king, but she still managed to look him squarely in the eye. "Number one," she began, one finger held inches away from Yuuri's face for emphasis, "I don't know any you and I'm not sure if I even want to yet. Pull a stunt like last night again; there will be hell to pay." She turned to Wolfram and Murata, "Got that?"

Wolfram gritted his teeth in agitation and made to move forward with the sole intent of putting this woman in her place, but Murata pulled him back and slapped a hand over his mouth for good measure. "Got it," the sage said cheerfully, relishing the look of pure outrage on Wolfram's face at being silenced.

"Good," Kimi continued. Her hands went up to the sides of her head, like she was trying to frame her next thought between them, and they shook as she tried to contain her frustration. "Number two…do you have _any_," she threw her hands out in front of her, palms face up, it was a pleading gesture, "_any_ idea how mortifying it was to be seen that way by a bunch of…random guys?" She clenched her fists. "I mean the embarrassment, the shame, th-the mental scarring," she stood on her toes and got in Yuuri's face, pointing at her head, "_Mental scarring_!"

Yuuri took a few steps back nervously and held his hands up in front of himself to try, hoping that not arguing with her would pacify her.

Kimi took a deep breath before continuing. "Seriously, Gisela here—it was Gisela, yes?" she asked sweetly over her shoulder, her behavior taking an abrupt 180.

The healer nodded kindly, "Yes Kimi, you said it right."

Kimi smiled at her and nodded her thanks, before whipping around to the Yuuri again, her eyes flashing. "Yes, Gisela," she pointed to her quickly, "was kind enough to have everyone leave the room with the sole intention of helping me avoid the embarrassment of being seen naked by a bunch of men, and you three manage to defeat the entire purpose of doing that by bursting in _the second I have my shirt off_!"

Gisela sat there pleasantly at her desk, watching the scene unfold with no small amount of satisfaction. The she saw it; Kimi had every right to be angry with them. Unintentional or not, they invaded the girl's privacy and gave her quite the upset. It was understandable that she would have a difficult time letting go of it. She was in a new place, scare and confused and the first real experience she has here is one of sheer humiliation and indignation. It was good for her to vent in order to better get over the whole ordeal.

It was when Kimi's voice began to rise in pitch that she started to get a little concerned.

"Number three," Kimi went on, "I have only in the past seven hours woken up from an apparently rather bad injury and have no idea how I got here, so forgive me if I have trouble accepting your explanation of 'it's Mazako magic' or whatever you call yourselves."

"Mazoku," Murata helpfully supplied.

"Whatever," Kimi cried. "The point is that the whole things sounded crazy last night, and it still sounds absolutely ape-shit now! And fourth," Kimi shrieked, "I'm tired _AND I_ _WANT TO GO HOME!_"

"Oh dear," Gisela murmured, jumping up from her chair and hurrying forward. "Now, now Kimi," she soothed, wrapping her arms around the girls shoulders and guiding her back to the bed to lie down. "You mustn't get yourself worked up, remember? It's important you avoid any physical or emotional strain that would result in yelling. We can't have that scar on your neck opening up again, can we?"

Gisela tucked the blanket in around Kimi and smoothed a hand across the girl's forehead before turning to face Yuuri and his fiancé and friend. "Your Majesty," she addressed them each in turn, "Your Eminence, Lord von Bielefeld if you would all come with me for a moment? Out in the hall? My patient needs to constant bed rest and there are just a few things I would like to discuss with you all before I permit any more visiting with her."

"Sure thing, Gisela," Yuuri agreed, still casting concerned and slightly nervous glances at Kimi.

"After you then," Gisela held out her hand and gestured for them all to proceed to the doors. "Kimi, I'll be right back, alright?" she said to Kimi as they left.

Kimi said nothing, staring dazedly at the ceiling above her.

As Gisela and the group enter the hallway, Greta came scurrying up to them, her arms laden with some of her most favorite misidentified stuffed animals from Uncle Gwendal. "I'm back," she declared.

"Oh Greta," Gisela leaned down slightly in front of the princess. "I'm afraid Kimi is resting right now, so she isn't really up for playing at the moment."

Greta's smile slowly faded. "Oh…" she said sadly.

Seeing Greta so crestfallen, the sergeant's eyes softened. "If you promise to be real quiet and calm, you can go in and keep her company," she compromised. "Deal?"

"Deal," Greta was all smiles again. "Kimi can cuddle with Mr. Bear until she feels better," she stated, holding out a toy that greatly resembled a black pig.

Murata leaned over to Yuuri. "…That's a bear?" he whispered.

"Alright, Greta," Gisela said, opening the doll for the little girl, "you can go in now, but remember," she put her finger up to her lips, "shhh."

Greta mimicked the gesture, "shhh." She hurried inside.

Gisela closed the door after her. "Okay, I want you all to be careful around Kimi for the next few days," she began. "She's hurt and she scared and she so overwhelmed that she's making herself sick. I don't need that cut opening up and getting infected. She's my patient and I don't want anything happening to her."

"We'll be on our best behavior," Yuuri assured. He glanced at Wolfram and Murata, "All of us."

Murata pretended to look offended, but Wolfram visibly bristled. "What?" Wolfram cried. "I don't want her hurt either. I just think she was a bit bold in there."

"She's upset Wolfram," Gisela pointed out, "and confused. Remember how difficult it was for his majesty to adjust when he first got here?"

Wolfram frowned. "Yes, I remember. I guess this isn't very easy to get used to for someone from earth." He looked at Yuuri. "I'll behave," he relented.

"Thanks, Wolf," Yuuri said. His brow furrowed and he stared at the wall for a moment, thinking. "Hey, wait a minute, Gisela," he turned to her questioningly, "I have a question. Kimi said you asked us to leave during her examination last night because you knew it would be awkward for a girl to get her physical done in front of a group of men. If you knew that Kimi was a girl, why didn't you tell us?"

Gisela placed her hands on her hips. "With all due respect, your majesty," she replied, "my main priority last night was my patient and her wellbeing. If I had informed you that she was a girl while she was present, it would have just been calling attention to the fact that you couldn't tell she wasn't a boy." She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned against the doorframe. "I didn't want to upset her more."

"Ooh…good point." Yuuri stared down at his feet in shame, "That would have been pretty bad, huh?"

"It would have been terrible for her," Gisela agreed. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go check on Kimi." She opened the door, but hung back in the hall. "You can come see her after lunch if she's calm. Lord von Voltaire as well as my father will be stopping by then too. Sound good?"

"That's fine," Yuuri concurred. "See you after lunch."

Gisela nodded. "After lunch." She then disappeared through the hospital wing doors.

Yuuri and the others had just begun to walk back down the hall when they were stopped by a loud cry.

"Oh no!"

"Gisela," Wolfram yelled. With Yuuri and Murata in tow, he burst through the doors and into the hospital wing, his sword drawn and poised for attack. "What's wrong?"

"They're gone!" Gisela cried. "Kimi and Greta are gone!"

**Thisisaline**

**Thisisonetoo  
**

Concealed inside walls of thick, cold marble and hard stone, Kimi found herself wandering down a long, dark spiral stairway with Greta. They had been walking for about five minutes now. They had to move slowly for while the girl ahead of her ambled down the steps with little to know hassle, Kimi often had to pause to feel her way in front of her, trailing her fingers across the grooves and foliations in the cold, moist stone to keep balance and stretching one foot out at a time to lightly graze the surface of the next step before she felt sure enough to fully step on to it. Despite how being so careful, she still had the occasional slip-up, her toe catching on a loose, broken away rock or sliding on the slick surface of the stairs and nearly bouncing the several steps down on her rear. Greta had taken a hold of her hand and was steadily guiding her down, doing her best to keep Kimi from falling.

There were no light fixtures on along the walls to light the way; no light bulbs, no lamps. There weren't even any torches mounted to the walls and if this truly was a historical castle, than one would think that it would at least have some of those. The only thing that allowed the two girls to be able to see three feet in front of their faces was a large swarm of fireflies that curiously flittered about the passageway, casting their path in a dim, greenish glow.

"Thanks for helping me," Kimi began hesitantly, tilting her head back to avoid a few of the little lightning bugs that swooped too low, "I just really needed to get out of there."

"No problem," Greta replied, "It must have been getting tiring being cooped up in there all day."

"You have no idea," Kimi sighed. "So…you, uh, take this route often."

Greta hummed. "Uh-huh," she answered. "I was playing hide and seek with Beatrice. It was my turn to hide and I am a very good hider," she stated matter of factly. "I had been hiding behind door for ten minutes and Beatrice still hadn't found me. I tried to get to the safe zone we had picked—the doorknobs to Gwendal's office—when I heard her walking her coming down the hall so I ducked into one of the spare rooms." She glanced back at Kimi to make sure she was listening. "We have a lot of those on the second floor."

"This place is pretty big, huh?" Kimi mused. She batted away a cobweb hanging down in her face.

Greta nodded. "This castle is huge!" She waved her free hand around her, as thought it would make emphasis of that statement even though they were confined in a significantly narrow passageway. "Anyway, I was in the spare room and I needed a place to hide. The bed would be too easy, everyone looks there. And if I had tried to hide behind the curtains, she would have found me for sure. And the desk was too small to hide under safely, not at all like the one in Gwendal's office of the royal bedrooms; ones are much bigger. I was starting to worry when I noticed this big grandfather clock in the corner. I was just small enough to fit through the little door on the front of it, so I hopped inside as quickly as I could." She stopped with a small squeak as a beetle scurried over her foot. She laughed it off and continued. "The problem was, there was a little window in the door to the clock that lets you see that little stick thing that swings back and forth inside." She turned to Kimi and screwed up her face in thought. "Yuuri told me what that thing was before, but I can't remember what it's called."

"Pendulum," Kimi contributed, waiting for Greta to actually answer her original question. '_This kid's could be queen of the run-on sentences_,' she thought.

"Yeah, that. Thanks," Greta said before venturing onward, Kimi in tow. "Well, I was worried Beatrice might see me through that window and then I would lose the game. So I tried to back up a bit and squeeze myself up against the very back of the clock and guess what happened next?" she pauses as though she expected Kimi to actually start guessing, only picking her story back up when the black haired girl said nothing. "The back pushed right out of the clock and I fell into this stairway! I was on a little landing and the stairs went both up and down. Down leads to one of the private gardens—that's where we're going now—but I chose to go up that day. I followed the stairs as high up as it would go and next thing I knew, I was coming out from under a loose title in the floor of the hospital wing, right up under one of the beds." She laughed. "I nearly scared Effee half to death while she was gathering the linens for washing!"

"Effee?"

"One of the maids that play with me." Greta counted off on her fingers. "There's Sangria, Lasagna, Doria and Effee. Effee's hasn't been working here as long as the other three. They're really fun. They play games with me and keep me company when they find the time. They've taught me how to bake some things too. Sometimes I hang out with them while they work around the castle whenever daddy Yuuri or papa Wolfram is too busy to see me." Greta came to a stop on a small landing. A section of the wall was a different color than the rest of the stone. "We're here," Greta pushed on the section until she felt it give. "It's a bit of a squeeze, but you should fit," with that, she slipped through the opening in the wall and disappeared from sight. "You coming?" she called.

"Uh…oh, yeah," Kimi crouched down and ducked into the small space. Greta hadn't been kidding; it really was a tight squeeze. Kimi took a huge breathe to try and suck in her ribcage as she flattened herself against one of the walls encasing her and slid out sideways. She stumbled as she emerged on the other side, dropping to her hands and knees.

Greta helped her to her feet. "Ta-da!" the redhead cried with a sweeping motion of her arm.

In front of Kimi lay a picturesque garden, complete with hedge borders and topiaries and laden with lush, green trees dangling off their branches strange fruit the likes of which she had never seen. They looked familiar in a sense to Kimi, but the colors were all mixed up. Apples were purple, bananas were pink, grapes were orange, none of it made sense.

"Do you like it," Greta asked. "Grandmother Celi had the trees planted a year or two ago."

Kimi didn't answer, she just kept on staring. A light, gentle breeze rustled through the foliage and swept across the yard, directing Kimi's eye to vast and beautiful display of flowers. Kimi stared in awe as she wandered dazedly forward, come to a stop a few feet away from one of the flowerbeds. Whoever had planted all of them, had arranged the plants by type and color, making the blossoms form patterns and designs all across the yard. The soft, fresh scent of pollen filled flora and grass clippings teased her nose, making her inhale deeply, relishing the moment…if only for a moment.

"These flowers," she began tentatively, moving closer to the blooming buds. "They're unlike anything I've ever seen before. The colors, the shapes…," she crouched down and cupped her hands around a single, vividly blue and white flower. "…they're unlike anything I've ever seen before. It's like something out of a painting." She trailed off, a far off look in her eyes. "Like a something from a dream…and those fruits!" Kimi jumped up and pointed around at the various unusual trees surrounding them, "There's no such thing as a purple apple. Not anywhere in the world."

"Not anywhere in your world, Kimi," Greta pointed out gently.

"You all keep saying that," Kimi complained. "Last night, they all kept going on and one about the human world and the demon world. Well let me tell you, I may not be the best at astronomy, but I know beyond a doubt that there are only nine planets—eight if you leave out Pluto—and _none_ of them are a demon world." She kicked at an acorn on the ground and turned to stalk off across the yard. "That would mean that one of those planets was stable enough to house an entire ecosystem just like Earth's, and I am sure I would have heard about that in the news!"

"Kimi?" Greta followed after her confused.

"And so-so what," Kimi continued, waving her hands about her, trapped inside her own rant. "if it isn't one of the nine planets, does- does that mean that this so called demon world is in some kind of parallel universe? Ha! That's a laugh. I mean, is that even scientifically possible?"

The girls eventually wandered out of the garden, the soft grass being replaced by dirt and eventually a stone walkway.

"Someone, please explain it to me," Kimi pleaded to no one and nothing in particular. She seemed to just be talking to herself at this point. "I-I literally cannot wrap my mind around this. First I wake up surrounded by people who could only be described as the potential models for the pull out section of 'hot guys' magazine," she rubbed at the bandages wrapped securely around her neck. "My roller blades apparently tried to strangle me, then next thing I know, everyone is trying to tell me I'm in some other world and the next part, I had to be dreaming because that Wolfram guy pulls this crazy fire stunt like, like…" Kimi came to an abrupt halt, Greta bumping into her. Kimi's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and her jaw went slack. She pointed straight ahead of her. "…Just like that…"

About twenty feet away from where Greta and Kimi stood was a small courtyard with a large circular space of dirt, much like a sumo arena. A large group of young men stood in it, all of them wearing blue uniforms similar to Wolfram's. Small groups of twos had separated from the group and were facing off against one another. With a flick of the wrist, each of them would produce a ball of flame in the center of their outstretched hands, hurling them at their opponents and practicing dodging whenever a fireball was throw their way in return.

"Oh, those are Wolfram's men," Greta explained, oblivious to the state of shock etched into Kimi's face. "They must be getting in some extra practice so that Wolfram won't work them as hard later for getting the morning off. He's always giving them extra drills and…Kimi?" Next to her, Kimi had gone very pale.

"I wasn't dreaming…" Kimi murmured weakly, "It wasn't a dream. It actually happened. It's happening now…" she began backing up slowly. "B-but that would mean…that would mean that everything is true…that it's all rea—," Kimi bumped into something behind her. It made a rattling and clacking sound. Turning around, she found herself face to face with a flying, winged skeleton.

The creature's jaw clattered up and gazed at her with empty sockets.

Kimi stared at the thing…

And stared…

…And stared…

And then she screamed.

"Oh my god!" she fell back and began to scoot away from the skeleton, pointing at it in terror. "What the hell is that thing?"

The creature clattered some more and came a few inches closer to her.

"No, no, no, no!" Kimi shrieked. "St-stay away from me!" She jumped up and took off at a frantic run, the monster in fast pursuit.

"Kimi, wait!" Greta called after her.

"Princess Greta!"

Greta turned around to find Wolfram's squad hurrying towards her, drawn by Kimi's screams. "What's wrong?"

"It's my new friend, Kimi," Greta pointed after her friend's rapidly retreating back. "She's from Earth, like Yuuri was. She's never seen a Kohhi before; it doesn't know it's scaring her."

"Don't worry your highness," one of the soldiers, a brunette, assured. He turned to one of the other soldiers. "Go inform his majesty!" he barked. The soldier nodded and took off towards the castle.

Meanwhile, the other went with Greta to try and catch up to the panicked young woman.

**Thisisaline**

**Thisisonetoo  
**

"Okay, okay I believe it!" Kimi tore off through the grounds of Blood Pledge castle. "It's real! It's all real! I get it!" She scrambled over a set of hedges and flopped down on the other side, picking herself up and crashing through another row of shrubbery, scattering leaves and branches in her wake and getting twigs tangled in her hair. She risked a glance over her shoulder at the flying monstrosity hovering not far behind her. "Leave me alone!"

The thing paid her words no mind, intently following after her.

"Go, shoo! Don't follow me!" Kimi raced between a pair of maids feeding birds with bread crumbs, startling them both and sending the birds fluttering skyward in a flurry of feathers.

Up ahead of her, Kimi spied a large pillar inside a stone ring, water trickling from it.

"There," she cried. "That's it! A fountain!" She picked up speed and hurled herself towards the fountain with all her might. Reaching it she climbed into the water and took a moment to catch her breath. "They said I came here through a fountain. That means I can go back the same way, right?" She stood there in the water, waiting.

Nothing.

"So send me back," she commanded. Still the fountain did nothing.

Kimi turned around to see the animated pile of bones was still flying towards her. She frantically turned back to stare at the water around her feet. "Come on, already!" she banged her fist on her knees, "I don't want to be here. I want to go home." She kicked the water in frustration, tears springing to her eyes. "Do something, do something, _do something!"_

The water remained still around her.

Kimi let out a cry and dropped to her knees in the water. "Come on," she begged, becoming hysterical. "You stupid hocus-pocus magic or whatever you are, just send me back." She was crying freely now. "I don't want to be here. I don't want to be in the demon world, I don't want to be trapped here. I just want to go home to my quiet, normal life!"

The creature finally caught up and was bearing down on her.

Kimi whirled around, anguish and fury etched across her face. Barring her teeth she half sobbed, half screamed at the horrible thing. "_GO AWAY!"_

A strong gale of wind tore whipped across the castle grounds, blasting dirt and leaves everywhere and causing Kimi to shield her eyes. The wind howled in her ears and beat at her face. Then, as quickly as it came, the wind vanished.

"Kimi!' Greta cried, running out from between a row of flower bushes, the soldiers hot on her heels. "Don't be frightened. It's just a Kohhi—hey where'd it go?"

The Kohhi was gone.

"Kimi?" Greta approached the girl cautiously. "Are you okay?" she carefully stepped into the fountain and crouched down next to Kimi. "Hey," she prodded, placing her hands gently on Kimi's shoulders, noticing that she was shaking slightly, "hey, it's alright."

"Greta," Yuuri's voice rang out as he, Wolfram and Gisela came hurrying up to them, Murata and Conrad not far behind. "Greta, Kimi!"

"Oh, dear," Gisela fretted, sidestepping around Greta and pulling Kimi into her arms. The girl instantly began sobbing. "There, there," she cooed, patting the girl on the back. "Shh, it's okay, you're alright know."

Yuuri and Wolfram lifted Greta out of the fountain. "Greta what happened?" Yuuri asked. "Why did you two take off?"

"Well, Kimi said she wanting some fresh air and was hoping I could show her a way outside. So I did. Then she sort of started to have a little break down about not being back home and none of this being real. And then a Kohhi showed up," she grimaced, "…and that didn't go over too well. It chased her across the grounds and I guess they ended up here."

"Kimi certainly seems to be very high strung," Murata observed. "Right now her mood swings are unpredictable."

'_Great_,' Yuuri thought. '_She's like Wolfram_.'

"I need to get her inside," Gisela stated, gingerly helping Kimi to her feet. "Help me get her up to the hospital wing," she ordered one of Wolfram's soldiers, waiting for him to nod and move forward to take Kimi's other arm before she turned to another soldier, "And you, go inform the maids that I will need a fresh change of clothes brought up to her and some herbal tea. Kimi needs a calm and relaxed environment right now."

Gisela and one of the soldiers began leading Kimi back towards the castle. "I'll leave you to sort everything out with Lord von Voltaire and my father, your majesty," she said to Yuuri as she passed. "If that is alright with you?"

"Of course," Yuuri replied. "You look after Kimi. I know she'll be in good hands with you."

Gisela nodded and led Kimi off.

"Well, Greta," Wolfram began, "I think it's time we head inside for lunch. You've had enough excitement for today I think." He took Greta by the hand and started walking back towards Blood Pledge. He briefly locked eyes with Yuuri and the anxiousness and concern ran through their minds. "We'll check on her later," he said, referring to Kimi. "Don't worry, Yuuri. Gisela will take good care of her."

"I hope so," Yuuri said, following after them. "I should probably go see Gwendal now, then. He's going to want to know what has been going on."

Murata lingered behind by the fountain. Glasses gleaming, he scanned the sky. "Hmmm…there's not a thing in the sky." He cupped a hand over his eyes. "Not even in the distant." He scratched his chin curiously. "So the question is: where did that Kohhi go?"

* * *

So another chapter down! Finally. I have to admit I am not as pleased with this one, but I really needed to get another chapter out there for you all.

And now footnotes (coincidentally, seemed to remove the numbers to my footnotes at the bottom last time so I'm going to have to do it differently this time.

One (1). Am I remembering this right? The apples were purple, weren't they? Or at least a fruit that resembled an apple was purple. I know the fruit in Shin Makoku can be odd colors.

Two (2). I know Greta calls Wolfram 'papa wolfram' but I am unsure as to what she calls Yuuri for father titles. Little help?

Three (3). How old was Greta when she first came to Yuuri? I'm trying to round up from that age for the time gap, but I don't know what her original age was.

Well that's it for now! Thanks for reading!

R and R please.

~Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland


	6. Chapter 5: Stranded in Paradise

I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, yada, yada, yada, disclaimer, acknowledging pre-existing copyrights…you get the point, right?

First I would like to thank those of you who reviewed and/or added me to your story/author alert list or favorites. I was worried that little attention would be paid to my story after having been on unannounced hiatus for so long. Hopefully bringing in chapter five after chapter four as fast as possible will bring in more readers and reviews for me.

This chapter is dedicated to a very close personal friend of mine outside of the internet highway. She was the one who encouraged and motivated me (through a series of praising, threats, and bribery) to pick up this story again and put out the last chapter…there's a yaoi book in transaction between us, but we'll hash out the details later! Enjoy!

**_Chapter Five_**

**_Stranded in Paradise_**

"Yes, yes," the door to the hospital wing open as the voice of Blood Pledge castle's resident demon healer came floating into the hall. It sounded like she was in the middle of a conversation with someone, the other voice no more than vague murmurs that seemed to cut Gisela off every few seconds, much to her annoyance. "Yes I…that's what the basin is for, if she should…just…_look_!" she cut across sharply, as she began to back out into the hall, "Just stay and keep an eye on the patient and make sure she is comfortable. If she wakes before I return she may be a little disoriented and dizzy. If she shows any signs of nausea have her use the basin by her bed." Gisela emerged fully into the hall and shut the door behind her, leaning against it with a sigh.

"How is she?"

Gisela looked up to find not only Yuuri and his friends gathered in front of her. Greta was also there, standing between her two fathers and clinging to their hands as she worried her lip between her teeth.

It was the Maou who had spoken to her. "How is she, Gisela?" he asked again.

Gisela knelt down in front of Greta to take the princess's hand in hers to give it a friendly squeeze, her eyes focused on her king over the redhead's shoulder. "Kimi is fine," she assured. "I have Dakoskos keeping an eye on her for now. I won't sugar coat it here, Kimi's rather shaken up, as is understandable with her kind of situation. I had to give her some medicine; just something to calm her down and sleep off a bit of the stress. I normally don't like to rely so heavily on potions and sedatives while healing my patients, but she has been in such a fragile emotional state on and off since she first woke up that it was becoming difficult to treat her while conscious." She stood up and ran her hands along her pants and sleeves as if to smooth out any wrinkles. "I am hopeful that this regime of light sleeping draughts and muscle relaxants will make her easier to reason with and willing to stay put in my care until I see fit to discharge her."

Yuuri nodded in understanding. "So she's going to be alright, that's good."

"Any idea as to what may have caused her to become so inconsolably distressed?" Gunter inquired of his daughter.

"As I've said to his highness before, Kimi is probably going through shock and a bit of denial over what has happened to her. She's far from home, doesn't know how to get back and she's surrounded by people whom she knows nothing about. And I'm sure that Kohhi didn't help matters." Gisela turned to stare at the wall to the side of her as she said this, glaring as though she could see said winged skeleton flying about the courtyard on just the other side of the wall. "From what I've gathered from his majesty's and his eminence's stories of Earth," she titled her head towards the pair of double blacks, "Mazokus' keep their heritage a secret and Maryoku is practically unheard of. That being said it is doubtful she or anyone else for that matter would have ever seen a Kohhi anywhere on Earth. Am I correct in assuming that, Heika?" she asked Yuuri.

"Yeah...we, uh, don't exactly have any flying magical creatures on Earth," Yuuri agreed with a grimace.

"The whole incident could have been avoided if she had just stayed put in the hospital wing to begin with," Wolfram pointed out. "_Needed fresh air_;" he huffed, "it seems to me her sole intention was to sneak off and escape when the coast was clear."

"I have a question," Gunter spoke up from behind them. "We were able to unlock some of the Mazoku language from Kimi's mind as was done with Yuuri, though with less success as she understands far less on her own with assistance, unlike our glorious Heika," he paused to gaze adoringly at Yuuri.

"That's right," Conrad piped up. "Kimi still needs to use Anissina's translator until we can teach her the complete Mazoku language. I almost forgot about that."

Gunter bobbed his head at the swordsman. "Yes, well something occurred to me. Kimi being able to understand us even a fraction of a bit, implies that what we unlocked for her was the memories of the language, right?"

Everyone muttered sounds of agreement, still not entirely sure where Gunter was going with all this.

"Well," Gunter continued, "with Yuuri Heika, it was because he contained memories of his soul's previous."

"Susannah Julia," Yuuri added.

Gunter smiled at his king. "Yes, Lady von Wincott. Well Heika has a past life because the Great One personally selected the soul deemed worthy enough to be trusted with the Maou's power and rule of the Great Demon kingdom. The same goes for his eminence."

"We know all this, Gunter," Gwendal interrupted. "What point are you trying to make."

Gunter looked like he was seriously considering sticking his tongue out at the Earth wielder. He settled with giving him a wry grin. "My point," he said dryly, "is that as far as we know, only a handful of Mazokus have lived more than one life, the few known reincarnations usually being directly caused by the will of the Great One." He scratched his chin. "Though it's hard to say how many reincarnation have actually occurred, since it is incredibly rare for one to remember a past life." He turned about to face Murata. "Geika, you seemed to know Shinou's nature and intentions better than anyone, aside from Ulrike. Is it possible that Kimi is the reincarnation of a Mazoku, reincarnated for the purpose of fulfilling the prophecy made at Wolfram's birth?"

Murata mulled that thought over in his head, his lips pursed in thought. "I don't think so," he said after a brief silence. "The prophecy was made because it was what fate itself has intended for us. The prophecy was already being made before Shinou came into his own rule, it was just revealed at the birth of one of the key players in it, Wolfram. Shinou put Julia's soul into Yuuri because he wanted a Maou personally chosen by him to rule instead of one decided by the birthright of previous Maoh's, having seen the outcome of monarchies left to their own devices after his rule ended. And it was his will that I live many previous lives so that I may possess wisdom enough to guide Yuuri as I did for Shinou himself in my first life. There was no prophecy fortelling of our coming because it was not fate that chose us to live our particular lives, but Shinou." Murata paused and pushed his glasses a little higher up the bridge of his nose. "Kimi was raised on Earth, we know that much. It would be safe to assume then that she was most likely born on Earth. Perhaps her parents are of demon blood."

"That could explain why she knew nothing of Shin Makoku or our world in general," Gwendal said. "All Earth demons are believed to be related to Christel Wincott in some way, dating back to when he first came to Earth to hide one of the four forbidden boxes. Since there is so little Maryoku on Earth with which to establish an elemental pact, many would not be aware of their demon abilities and therefore might not realize they descended from demons at all. Kimi's parents might not realize their hereditary connection to the Great Demon kingdom if they have any connection at all and so Kimi was also never informed."

"But that doesn't explain why she has memories of our language," Wolfram interjected. "If her parents knew nothing of the demon kingdom, it is unlikely they would know the Mazoku language. So if Kimi had no knowledge of any sort regarding her demon heritage and she isn't a reincarnation of a demon from Shin Makoku, then there would also be no memories of our language for Gwendal to have unlocked."

Murata took this into consideration. "You're right," he agreed. "One doesn't learn a language out of nowhere. Even a child's native language must be taught to them when they lean to talk. Maybe Kimi's parents did know they were demons. They could have even known Bob and Dr. Rodriguez; that would probably be where they learn the Mazoku language. Kimi could have grown up around bilingual parents, speaking both Japanese and Mazoku. If they never took the time to truly teach her the language, Kimi would not have actually grasped what was being said or truly understand it and simply filed it away in the back of her mind."

"Why wouldn't they teach it to her if they supposedly knew it?" Yuuri asked.

"It could be similar to your situation, Yuuri," Murata explained. "Your father was an Earth born Mazoku (1) and your mother knew he was. Yet, they chose not to tell you before you were ready to take the throne. Kimi's parents may have spoken the Mazoku language occasionally around other aware Mazoku, but decided not to reveal their history to Kimi. They probably figured she would never need to know it."

"But my parents had a reason for not telling me," Yuuri pointed out. "At least, I think they had a reason. I wasn't just a half demon; I was going to ascend to the throne of an entire kingdom. That's a lot for any kid to take in; of course they would be hesitant to tell me. But what reason would Kimi's parents have for not telling her? I mean, it probably isn't possible they knew of the prophecy; it was made over eighty years ago in Shin Makoku and her parents were probably born on Earth like most demons living there were. So why keep what she is from her?"

"I guess that's what we need to figure out, Shibuya," Murata replied.

"And you can figure it out later," Gisela stated, calling everyone's attention back to the fact that she was still there. "Right now, there are some things I would like to discuss with all of you."

Gisela folded her arms over her chest, slipping into her no-nonsense "Sergeant" mode. "Now, I still don't really know about this prophecy matter you all keep mentioning, I have the basic gist of it at best, but if I let you back into to see Kimi I don't want you all bombarding her with numerous questions. She doesn't know how she got here, she doesn't know why and I'm pretty sure she barely knows a thing about any prophecy concerning her. The last thing she needs amongst all this confusion is being pestered for answers she doesn't have." Her stance switched to a more humble, relaxed pose. "I don't mean any respect to you Your Majesty, but I feel I must put my foot down on this. My patient's recovery requires the full cooperation of everyone involved." She gave a quick low bow. "I am in no way trying to go over your own authority on the matter. I am simply asking you as strongly as I can to follow my request to give this girl some peace for the time being."

"I completely understand where you're coming from, Gisela," Yuuri answered. "Last thing we want right now is to bring up anymore concerns for Kimi to spend time worrying herself sick over. We promise to hold off on the heavy questioning for now."

"Thank you, Heika."

"But, Gisela," the healer looked down to find Greta staring up at her, hands clasped together pleadingly.

"Gisela," the Princess gave her a pair of bambi eyes that would put Yuuri's to shame, "Can, we at least have one quick visit with Kimi? To see if she's alright?"

"Would that be alright, Gisela?" Yuuri implored. "We want Kimi to know that we're people she can trust, that we're friends here. A good way to start is by showing her we care about her wellbeing."

Wolfram hmphed. "Why isn't noble of you," he snapped sarcastically. "You're certainly quite interested in what's going on with that girl." He grabbed Yuuri by the shirt and leaned in so close they were almost touching noses. "I trust there is no ulterior motive for you wanting to see her so often?"

Yuuri put his hands up in surrender. "Of course not, Wolfram. I'm just trying to show her a little kindness." He reached down to loosen Wolfram's grip on his shirt. "I can relate to what she's going through. I was new here too once and I know I was glad to have you and Conrad and so many other people looking out for me."

Wolfram's glare softened. "I suppose it couldn't hurt to show her some support." He reluctantly released Yuuri and turned to face Gisela. "Do you think we could go in and see her? We really didn't get much time to get to know her earlier."

Gisela sighed. "I guess I could let you in for a bit," she relented, "When she wakes up. But no hassling her with questions. We need to make her as comfortable as possible. Try and ease her into our culture, the positive things about our kingdom. You know, get her used to the idea of being here."

"Good idea," Gunter agreed. "She may be here quite awhile."

Gwendal nodded. "We don't know when the events of the prophecy will come to pass or how long she will be needed. The sooner she accepts her life here, the sooner we can begin to figure out what the prophecy requires of her."

"That's another thing," Gisela said. "I must ask you all to refrain from any 'prophecy' talk for a while. Kimi doesn't need that much pressure on top of everything else." She opened the door to the hospital wing. "Now, I am going to go check on Kimi's condition. I will send someone for you when she wakes up and is feeling reasonable." She gave one last bow and then vanished into the hospital wing, the door swinging shut behind her.

Gwendal cleared his throat. "Well, Gunter and I are retiring to my study to begin arrangements for Kimi's stay here."

He held up a hand to cut off Gunter's protests, the flaky royal advisor wishing to spend more time in Yuuri's presence and probably hoping to get to know the newest double black sleeping in the hospital wing.

"The two of us," Gwendal continued firmly, "will be going over stratagem for training Kimi. If she is somehow going to assist in the protection of Shin Makoku in the future, then she will need to know at least basic military practices. She did not appear to be much of a soldier to me; it is safe to say she will need all the training she can get."

"Don't plan anything too strenuous for her," Conrad chided with a smile. "She's new here. We don't want to scare her off with an overly rigorous boot camp. I think I will stay here with his majesty—,"

"Yuuri," Yuuri reminded.

"Right," Conrad corrected himself, "I'll stay here with Yuuri, Wolfram and Princess Greta for a bit."

Gwendal jerked his head in a brief nod. "Very well." He then turned on his heel and headed off down the hall towards his study. "Come Gunter," he called over his shoulder when Gunter lingered behind.

Gunter looked back and forth between the group still gathered in the hall, and Gwendal. He worried his lip between his teeth and looked very much like he was trying to resist pouting. "But…but I…Heika..,"

"_Gunter_."

"Coming Gwendal!" Gunter hurried off down the hall after Gwendal's retreating back.

The others watched the pair walk off, Gunter hastening to catch up to Gwendal when the other man made no attempt to slow down or wait for him.

"So," Yuuri said, "What should we do while we wait?"

"Hm," Wolfram crossed his arms and tilted his head to the side. "It's late afternoon now so it's too late for me to really try and catch up on my soldier's training before dinner. With all that still needs to be settled here with Kimi, I won't be able to fit a proper double session with them to make up for what they missed this morning."

"I'm sure your men will be quite relieved to hear that," Murata quipped.

Wolfram chose to ignore the sage's remark. "We already had breakfast," he continued, "—late breakfast. We had lunch and Yuuri has the day off from paperwork and Gunter's lessons."

"And I can't tell you how happy that makes me," Yuuri added with a wide grin.

Wolfram rolled his eyes. '_Wimp._' "You know," he mused aloud, "for such an exciting day, it actually went pretty slow. I mean we got to sleep in, Yuuri and I have been excused from our usual duties and responsibilities for the day, and Anissina hasn't created any questionable, life threatening, or spontaneously exploding inventions in over two days. Aside from tending to Kimi, we have nothing to occupy our time. And yesterday we had a little time to ourselves to play that game with Greta and the maids." He shook his head. "It's been awhile since we've had so much downtime, I'm not sure what to do with myself."

He felt a tugging at his sleeve. "You can play with me," Greta offered hopefully.

Wolfram smiled fondly down at his daughter. "Of course I can," he replied as he took Greta's hand in his. "Even when I actually am busy, I can always find time for you."

Greta beamed at him. "Can we have cookies in the garden?" she asked as Wolfram led her away.

"Of course we can." Wolfram agreed. "I'll send for some maids to bring it out to us. And some milk tea too."

"Okay! And I can make you a flower crown. It's been a while since I've been able to make you one. Maybe I could make one for Kimi too."

"Sounds good, I'm sure Kimi will love that."

Yuuri stood with Conrad gazing fondly after Wolfram and Greta as they chattered happily to each other. It was always nice to spend some quality time with his friends and family. Sometimes with all the things he was expected to do as the Maou, Yuuri barely had time to enjoy life with those he had grown to care about over the years.

"Yuuri?"

Yuuri was pulled out of his thoughts to find Greta and Wolfram had stopped, the young girl staring at him in confusion.

"Papa Yuuri (2)," she said again, striking a pout she could have only learned from Wolfram, "Uncle Conrad, aren't you two coming with us?"

"Sure, Greta," Yuuri answered.

"We would be happy to join you," Conrad agreed.

"As would I," Murata cut in, not wanting them to forget he was there.

"Besides," Yuuri added, "when are we ever going to get such a carefree day like this again?"

Wolfram frowned. "Excuse me?" he said, placing a hand on his hip. "You get free time _all_ the time. I actually do hard work and practice every day, _you_ shirk your responsibilities on a regular basis, sneaking out of signing paperwork with Gwendal and ducking out on lessons with Gunter to go off on crazy adventures. Sometimes I feel like my brothers and I are the only ones who do any actually work around here—_and wipe that smile off your face, Conrad!"_ he added when he caught the brunette smiling a bit more brightly at being acknowledged as Wolfram's brother. That was happening a lot more often lately.

"I have no idea what you mean, Wolfram," Conrad said innocently.

"Hmph."

"Hey wait a minute," Yuuri exclaimed, "Wolf, I do too work hard! I am always putting myself into my work, doing the best I can for the good of the kingdom. So I sneak out now and again to take a break…_you_ usually go with me! So…if anything…you're just as irresponsible as you say I am!" he grinned triumphantly, unaware of the menacing aura that was coming off of his fiancé.

"Uh…Shibuya," Murata warned.

"_Excuse me?"_ Wolfram let go of Greta's hand to stride up to Yuuri, his eyes burning with ire and his face flushed with indignation. "How dare you accuse me of being irresponsible!' he cried, poking Yuuri in the chest with each word. He was livid; Yuuri had no right to accuse him of being less than the best soldier he could be. He got enough of that from the other residents of the castle for years. They thought he didn't hear the nicknames, the name calling behind his back. "I'll have you know that I go on your absurd adventures with you to protect you. I think that qualifies as doing my job. I don't get the luxury of relaxing on our little trips that you do as our king."

Wolfram couldn't believe Yuuri would even entertain the thought. 'Spoiled Brat,' 'Little Lord Brat', 'Selfish Loafer;' that's what people called Wolfram when they thought he wasn't listening. Unfairly judged as being unwilling to contribute to his Kingdom if he so much as showed an ounce of anger or neediness; he just wanted to scream sometimes. "Do not accuse me of not doing my duty, as is expected of me every hour of everyday!"

"Easy, Wolf," Yuuri attempted to pacify the raging fire wielder. "I was just kidding, no need to get so upse—."

"Papa Wolf," a voice piped up.

Yuuri and Wolfram turned to see Greta gazing up at them with concern written plainly on her face.

Greta approached Wolfram and gingerly took his hand in hers. "Don't be mad at Yuuri," she pleaded. "We hardly ever spend time altogether anymore. I want us all to have tea in the garden together," she pouted. "Like a family."

Wolfram's eyes softened. "Oh Greta…" he bent over and cupped her face in his hands. "I'm sorry…you're right. I shouldn't be mad. I didn't mean to upset you." He straightened and turned to the Yuuri. "Yuuri," he said, "I would still like for you to join us in the garden; both you and Conrad. And Murata…," he added disparagingly with a side glance at the sage.

"Ah Wolfram, you _do_ care," Murata teased. "I would be honored to join you and your family for tea."

"Wonderful," Wolfram remarked dryly. "Come along Greta," he said to his daughter before turning to regard Yuuri. "We look forward to seeing you in the garden." Wolfram's voice held no malice and his face was blank, but the look in his eyes clearly read, '_don't think that this is over._' He gave a stiff nod and a forced smile for show before leading Greta off to the garden.

Yuuri sighed as Wolfram and Greta rounded the corner and disappeared out of sight. "Ah, man," he groaned, "I did it again. I keep ticking him off." He stuffed his hands in his pockets. "I don't get it, Conrad. What did I do this time? I was only joking with him. Why did he get so mad?"

"Heika…"

"Come on Conrad," Yuuri said dejectedly, not even bothering to correct his godfather. "There's some space in the garden where we can play a bit of catch. Let's go get the ball and mitts." He headed off towards his room, Murata and Conrad in tow. "Maybe Wolfram will have forgiven me after a few games."

"I'm sure he'll come around, Shibuya," Murata stated with a smug grin. "After all, it's not the first time you've pissed him off and made him want to fry you alive."

"Gee, thanks," Yuuri muttered. "That makes me feel so much better…"

"I do what I can, Shibuya."

**ThisIsALineOfTransition**

**ThisIsOneToo**

**HereToo  
**

Gwendal stood leaning over a scroll spread out across the desk in his study. He found himself working in here more often in the past year as he had begun to crack down a little more sternly on Yuuri, getting the young king to spend more time working and signing papers in the main office and leaving Gwendal with less reason to spend time working in there himself. The only times Gwendal really needed to work in the main office any more was when Yuuri was away on matters of peace-keeping and treaties, or when it was necessary to meet to discuss important or worrisome matters in politics (usually when the Ten Nobles sent request for an audience with the king). Other than that, Gwendal often took care of the less official work of running the kingdom from the comfort of his private study. Surrounded by his knitting needles and various creations made for 'meditation'…yes, truly a professional place of work…

"It's settled," Gwendal declared, tucking away a stack of documents into a drawer on his desk, "Kim Lee will received swordsmanship training from Conrad and Wolfram, with basic military training from myself as well as proper conduct and you, Gunter will take care of her lessons in our culture and history." He frowned as he scanned over one more paper before putting it away. "She'll need some knowledge of our culture if she is going to fit in here. As far as housing," he continued, laying out an old map containing the layout of Blood Pledge castle and examining it, "we can place her in one of the guest rooms on this floor, preferably one far away from Mother when she returns." He pointed at Celi's room on the map and inserted a bright red push pin into the spot to mark it off. "I would prefer to keep her away from Kim Lee as much as possible. We have enough trouble on our hands with her trying to teach her ideals of 'free love' to the maids."

"Agreed," said Gunter, standing near one of the bookshelves in the room organizing various book titles that seemed to have been overturned, taken out, or put away out of alphabetical order. Gunter was beginning to suspect that Yozak may be sneaking in here on occasion and fiddling with the order on the bookshelves, toying with Gwendal and his desire for a neat and organized workplace.

"And we can't put her anywhere that Anissina has close access to," Gwendal continued as he pushed another red push pin into the map. "Yuuri knows well enough to avoid talking about Earth inventions in front of that madwoman, but we need to make sure Kim Lee understands the important of avoiding that subject as well."

"Yes," Gunter thumbed through a worn edition of 'Military Elemental Offensive Tactics' before setting it in its proper place. "We would all very much like to steer clear of inspiring Anissina into creating any new unsound contraptions."

"That's all we need, another explosion in the castle that takes weeks to repair," Gwendal grumbled. "Let's see…there are some spare rooms closer to the hospital wing," he put a few yellow pins down on the map. "One of those would make it easier for Gisela to look after Kim Lee." Gwendal paused a moment and tapped the back of one of the pins against his lips as he regarded the map. "Then again, there's a room or two by Greta." Another yellow pushed pin hover above the map over the section of the castle where the princess resided. "Greta seems fond of her; it's probably good for her to have another young girl around to play with."

"Kimi is sixteen, Gwendal," Gunter pointed out, rifling through more scattered books. "And I believe she prefers to be called Kimi."

"She's still younger than anyone else here," Gwendal countered. "She's closer to Greta's age than anyone else is. As for her name, I do not generally address those around me by affectionate nicknames. It's hardly the proper etiquette for nobility to engage in. I shall continue to address our guest by her proper name given to her by her parents."

Gunter rolled him eyes.

"Now then," Gwendal tapped the map gently and traced the lines running throughout it, his other hand picking through the various colored push pins sprawled across his desk before settling on a green one, "Where to put our guest?"

Gunter placed one last book back on the shelf and approached the desk. He stood besides Gwendal and leaned over the map as well, his lavender hair trailing down over his shoulders and grazing the top of the worn parchment. The scent of lilac and lilies wafted paste Gwendal's nose, causing him to move away slightly and stare more intently at the map.

"A-ha!" the lovely advisor exclaimed. "Well, look at that. Right here," he prodded a section of the map, "If you look at it closely, you'll see this room right here lies almost evenly halfway between the Hospital wing and Greta's room." He reached across Gwendal and with slender fingers, deftly plucked the green push pin from his hand. He pegged it on top of the designated room and stood back to examine it. "There, you see?" he asked with a pat to Gwendal's shoulder, "The perfect compromise."

"…Yes," Gwendal replied slowly. "Yes, that does work. And it's not too close to Heika's room; that's good."

"Wait…" Gunter frowned, "why is it important that we not house Kimi too close to Yuuri Heika? Do you think she could be dangerous? The prophecy indicated that she would be beneficial to Heika and the kingdom."

"It's not that," Gwendal disagreed, "What I meant was that it's important we try to avoid the citizens of Shin Makoku getting the wrong impression." He shifted so that he was resting one hand upon the desk and leaning his weight on it. "Especially the Ten Nobles. Think about," he entreated, "Kim Lee is a double black, brought here upon mysterious and, to the public, unknown pretenses. She's a girl who comes from Heika's place of birth, Japan on Earth. She speaks his native tongue. If word gets out that a young woman with so much in common with the Maou has suddenly come to stay at Blood Pledge, the entire aristocracy of the kingdom will be in a full on upheaval of gossip. There will be talk of a possible opposing suitor for the title of his fiancé. It would seem even more suspicious if she slept anywhere within range of the royal bedroom; like an outright invitation for improper conduct between them."

Gunter blanched. "You're right," he said. "We have enough on our hands with the maids troublesome Love Lottery. Thanks goodness the Ten Nobles don't know about that shameful thing." He 'tsked' and turned his head to the side, biting the tip of his thumb in worry. "That darn lotto, sullying the good name of our king and most respected noble residents…and Wolfram."

Gwendal watched on in slight annoyance, though the corner of his mouth quirk up a bit against his will. "Gunter…"

"And to think," Gunter carried on dramatically, "if word gets out that a young woman is that close to Heika, that accessible to him, the rumors will run wild! Whispers of our innocent king tarnishing his reputation with sordid affairs and secret tryst with a mysterious woman will circulate like wildfire, tainting the good name of our most righteous and chaste Heika!" He wobbled in place, the very thought of such gossip apparently making him dizzy with dread.

"While I think you're blowing this a bit more out of proportion than necessary, you do have a point," Gwendal admitted. "There's nothing the nobles seem to love more than a royal scandal; that goes double for the Ten Nobles. They will undoubtedly start saying that Kim Lee is the 'other woman' in Heika's life, even a possible mistress or candidate for the title of Queen. Even worse, a rumor that Heika's eyes are wandering could inspire the idea that he is in the market for a mistress or consort. We'll receive dozens of letters and requests for a public audience with the king, all from nobles wishing for their children or themselves to be by his side and reap the financial and political benefits."

"Oh it would be a disaster!" Gunter wailed. He rushed forward and gripped the front of Gwendal's green jacket. "Whatever will we do?"

"Well…I…" Gwendal flustered. He took a step back and hastily detached Gunter's hands from his jacket. "First off," he said after a deep breath and a brief pause, "We're going to avoid placing Kim Lee too close to the royal bedchamber. We'll have her stay in the room close to Greta, like you suggested. Also," he moved back over to the desk and pulled out a few documents and papers, "I've been thinking about what to do about Kim Lee's identity."

"What do you mean?"

"Well it might be prudent to conceal Kim Lee's true identity from the general public. Not only would a double black from Earth cause talk among the nobles, it could also cause unrest with our enemies." At Gunter's confused expression, he sighed. "Kim Lee was summoned to Shin Makoku in order to lend her influence to the outcome of a dire matter in the future." He shrugged. "A war most likely. Though we don't know just what Kim Lee's influence will cause or how significant it will be in the grand scheme of things, from the outside she could be interpreted as a trump card for us. In order words, she'd be seen as a threat to that which may oppose us in the near future, whatever and whenever that may be."

Gunter nodded, "Makes sense. It is very possible that we are not the only ones who know of the prophecy. Fate creates possible paths for us to follow but does not write them in stone. A prophecy does not choose a side to benefit one over the other; it simply tells us what could very well be if not intervened upon from either side." He wandered to the window and gazed out upon the castle grounds, in thought. "If the prophecy was revealed to Ulrike, it is very likely another priestess out there received the message as well. They could be expecting Kimi, whoever they are."

"Exactly," Gwendal came to stand beside him. "We must avoid word getting out about who Kim Lee truly is. Her coming from another world is already suspicious enough. Add that to the fact that she is a double black, a trait that only two other people bear in this world right now, and it would be all but a dead giveaway that she was brought here for more than a simple visit."

"So what do you suggest?" Gunter inquired.

Gwendal looked off to the side, thinking. "I think," he began, "it would be best if we hide the truth from the kingdom for now. We'll spread it around that she is a cousin of mine from a lower branch of the Voltaire family, here to learn proper etiquette as a well rounded aristocrat. We'll change her hair color like we have done for Heika in the past when he would travel. Her eyes shouldn't be too much trouble thanks to those colored contacts Heika brought back from Earth on his last visit there. He says they are more comfortable than the lenses we would have him wear."

"What about Kimi's name? You can't address her as Kim Lee, Gwendal," Gunter pointed out. "It's too foreign a name to be from Shin Makoku. Looks like you'll have to call her Kimi after all," he declared with a triumphant smirk.

Gwendal glared at him. "I shall call her Kim, by the first half of her first name. I will rename her Kimberly if I have to"

Gunter sighed. Sometimes Gwendal could take up such a stubborn nature so reminiscent of Wolfram that it was obvious they were related.

Gwendal rubbed at his chin. "Kimberly von Voltaire, sounds passable for a name of nobility," he stated with a firm nod of his head. "We'll draw up fake documentation of her relation to me if necessary. Do you suppose the servants who have already seen her will keep quite?"

"They usually do," Gunter replied. "The majority of them live here on the castle grounds in the servants quarters, it's not like they spend large sums of time among the people in the town. The maids tend to keep their gossip strictly to the staff anyway. We only know about the love lottery because they aren't too discreet in their whispering in the halls. Though I can't say I have ever heard a peep from them when we have nobility visiting; they're very careful about that."

"Good," Gwendal said. "But just in case, the staff will be spoken to about minding what is said outside these walls." He folded his arms and nodded with finality. "We'll inform Kim Lee of this decision at a later date in time; it would make little sense to her without explaining the prophecy and Gisela was quite firm on that matter not being discussed at this time. A new name, a new background, new looks; this could work quite well. Kimi will blend in perfectly as just another lower ranking noble on leave from her home. That should keep talk to a minimum and more importantly it will—,"

"It will diffuse any confusion and gossip that could arise among the noble before it even has a chance to start!" Gunter cried happily. "No one would expect a member of the strict and proper Voltaire family to exhibit such illicit acts as an indecent liaison with the king. Oh my precious Heika's innocence will remain unquestioned." Gunter radiated an aura of sheer fangirl. "Oh my marvelous, wonderful Heika, how could anyone ever suspect you of something as distasteful as an affair?"

Gwendal resisted the urge to sigh and chose to rub at the crease on his brow instead. "You may dote on him too much, you know." There was an underlying tone of annoyance to his voice as he moved to gather up the maps and papers strewn across his desk. "You do realize he isn't available for your affections, right?"

"What," Gunter stopped midway through his 'flailing of joy'. "What are you saying?"

"I'm saying," Gwendal explained, "that you seem to 'like' Heika more than is appropriate for someone of your stature and…'experience'," he avoided using the word 'age', choosing to approach this as delicately as possible so as to steer clear of instigating a fight. Gwendal continued to reorganize his desk, a bit more force in his movements than was necessary; he swept a hand out to pick up one form and accidentally swiped it off the desk. "I just think your behavior could be deemed inappropriate."

"There is nothing wrong with how I act in front of his majest—" Gunter paused and regarded the man moving stiffly about the study. Hesitantly he made his way over to Gwendal and began assisting him in sorting out the desk. "Gwendal," he prodded gently, "I am merely expressing my loyalty and admiration to our king for having come to us all those years ago to bring peace in a time of political unrest."

"Of course," Gwendal replied with just a bite of sarcasm, "You just happen to do so in an overly enthusiastic manner." He crumpled a few papers as he picked them up hastily.

Gunter carefully pulled the papers out of Gwendal's hands, straightening them. "I'm serious," he said, setting the papers down in an orderly pile. "I have nothing but the utmost respect for Heika."

Gwendal scoffed.

"Of course I like Yuuri Heika."

Gwendal head snapped up at that.

"I like many people here," Gunter continued. "I like Conrad and Geika, Greta and Lady Celi. I suppose I care for Wolfram so you could probably call that liking him. I," he shuddered as he picked up a few more documents, "I guess I sort of like Anissina, when she isn't strapping me down to any ominous deathtraps." He chuckled, earning a small snort from Gwendal as well. "I like Lasagna, Sangria, and Doria. I like Effee and Dakoskos and..." He bent down to pick up the paper that Gwendal had dropped at the precise time Gwendal went to do the same and their hands touched, "and you."

Gwendal pulled his hand back quickly and stared at Gunter, the lavender haired man looking back with a small smile on his face.

Gunter resisted the urge to giggle as he noticed Gwendal's ears beginning to turn red. He stood up and held out the paper he had picked up for the other man to take. "Gwendal," he began…

_Knock, knock_

Both men turned to the doors on the other side of the room as another, slightly louder knock sounded from the opposite side. "Lord von Voltaire?"

Gwendal stiffen his features into a more serious expression and cleared his throat awkwardly. "Enter," he called roughly.

One of the doors open and a palace guard poked his head through. He lingered in the doorway for a moment before stepping fully into the room and standing respectfully at attention. He took note of Gunter's presence and gave a quick nod of acknowledgment. "Lord von Voltaire, Lord von Christ," he address them, "Forgive me for disturbing you, but I have been sent to inform you that Lady Gisela requests your presence."

"In the medical wing, I trust?" Gwendal asked, receiving a nod from the guard. "Will that be all?"

"Yes sir."

"Thank you then, you may go," Gwendal dismissed the guard.

"Sir," the guard clasped one fist and pressed it to his chest as he bowed lowly before leaving the room.

Gwendal and Gunter waited until they heard the 'click' of the door before making any attempts to speak.

Gunter tucked some loose strands of hair behind his ear and glanced at Gwendal out of the corner of his eye. "Um…so…" he brought his hands in front of him and tapped his pointer fingers together, like one would do when being caught doing wrong and still hoping to feign some sort of innocence, "so, that's a good sign, right? Gisela wants to see us; that must mean Kimi is awake."

"Yes," Gwendal grunted shifting on his feet a bit, "that is a good sign." He coughed into his fist, "we should-we should go, then." His eyes were downcast as he awkwardly went about checking his uniform, smoothing out wrinkles that probably only he could see and folding and refolding the cuffs of his sleeves.

"Yes, uh," Gunter adjusted his own collar while looking anywhere in the room but at Gwendal. "His majesty and Geika are sure to be there, no doubt," he leaned over and attempted to view his reflection in the overly polished surface of the oak desk and ran a hand through his hair, "it would be disrespectful to keep them waiting."

Gwendal made a noncommittal noise behind him, observing the more effeminate man's fussing out of the corner of his eye.

Gunter stood back up and turned around to face Gwendal. "Well," he said, holding his arms out to the side of him in a manner that clearly asked 'how do I look?' "Shall we go then?"

Gwendal cleared his throat. "Of course," he extended his hand out towards the door, "after you."

Gunter hummed and proceeded to the door. Before he reached it, Gwendal came up behind him and reached out for the doorknob. He held the door open and gestured for Gunter to pass through, the latter smiling broadly at him as he walked by.

Gwendal stood there lost in thought as he watched the other man walk away. After a moment, he shook his head furiously and followed after Gunter at a brisk pace.

**ThisIsALineOfTransition**

**ThisIsOneToo**

**HereToo  
**

Not too far away, Yuuri and Conrad were making their way to the hospital wing as well. After a good workout playing catching in the garden, they had gone to their own rooms to change out of their dirty clothes and put the ball and catcher's mitts away. Wolfram, Greta, and Murata chose to stay behind to finish off the tea with plans to meet up with them afterwards. Conrad had just met back up with Yuuri outside the royal bedroom when a guard came to inform them that Gisela was asking for them.

"Let's go, Conrad," Yuuri said as they sent the guard back to his post, "It's safe to say Gisela probably sent someone to look for Wolfram and Greta; Gwendal and Gunter to. We can just meet up with them at the hospital wing when they get there."

"Of course, Yuuri," Conrad replied. He had already been reprimanded by his godson several times today about not calling his godson by his royal title. He was being extra careful to keep Yuuri's request in mind; he was sure Yuuri was getting tired of having to constantly remind him and he certainly didn't want to upset him.

The pair meandered down the hall at a leisurely pace. They didn't want to anger Gisela by taking too long, but seeing as Kimi was most likely not going anywhere, there was no urgent need to rush over. They'd get there when they get there.

After several minutes of walking in comfortable silence, Yuuri turned to Conrad. "So," he said slowly, "Do you think Wolfram has forgiven me?"

The aforementioned prince had done his very best to evade any of Yuuri's attempts of reconciliation, using their daughter as the perfect distraction and scapegoat. The human princess had spent her time matching the appropriate blossoms to Wolfram's complexion in order to make the perfect flower crown for him and discussing what color would go best in a crown for Kimi. All the while she remained oblivious to the fact that her beloved Papa Wolf was using the opportunity to dote on her to his advantage. Yuuri barely got a word in edgewise around their constant amiable chatter and laughter. When Yuuri finally managed to coax Wolfram in joining him for a few games of catch, hoping to lighten the blonde's foul mood towards him, Wolfram only agreed to two games and only because Greta had decided to play. Each time he had thrown the ball to Yuuri, it was obvious he was wishing it was a ball of fire he was hurling towards the double black.

They did have one moment of mutual enjoyment in the game, though. Murata had made the grave assumption that he could get away with making an inappropriate (and as he defended, flattering) comments about Wolfram's posterior when the blonde had gone to retrieve a wayward ball from under some rose bushes and had to get onto all fours to do so (not the sort of conduct deemed appropriate for a noble, but since it had been Greta who threw the ball, Wolfram could make an exception). The comment hadn't been well received by the Bielefeld and Murata found himself on the receiving end of an airborne flaming dirt clump's flight path. The sage had 'eeped' quite uncharacteristically and tripped into a bush of vivid blue tulips when he went to dive out of the way. Yuuri and Wolfram found themselves sharing a rather riotous laugh at Murata's expense, though Wolfram promptly clamed up and turned his head away when he caught Yuuri smiling at him. Not much progress was made towards reconciling from there.

Conrad looked thoughtful. "I'm sure Wolfram has," he replied. "As it is, there really isn't much for him to forgive."

Yuuri quirked an eyebrow at him. "There isn't? Because last I checked he was beyond pissed off at me."

"It isn't so much you that he is mad at," Conrad explained, "as it is the accusation he believes you made; an accusation made by many people." Conrad smiled wistfully. "Wolfram is a spirited person, sometimes a bit…high strung I guess you could say. He is upfront about his feelings when he believes he or those he cares about are being wronged. This is generally not the most appropriate way to go about expressing oneself when you are from noble upbringing, and people tend to judge his anger as an act of disrespect, or that of a 'spoiled brat' and with such claims gets tacked on the accusation that Wolfram doesn't work hard for the titles he bears." His smile waned. "In other words, for being honest about his feelings, albeit too vocally sometimes, he gets labeled as a spoiled and pampered prince, seen as nothing more than a subject of royalty who is coasting through life on the political status of his mother," he turned to Yuuri and attempted another smile, but it just came off unexplainably sad, "and your political status."

"What?" Yuuri exclaimed. "Wolfram doesn't do that! He didn't even want to be engaged to me in the beginning, regardless of my title or political standing. He's not using me for any-any perks, or-or…or advantages in society!"

Conrad shrugged sadly. "People outside the castle don't really know the circumstances under which you became engaged to Wolfram. They only know that you proposed to him by means of traditional methods and that he accepted. They also know that Wolfram is famously beautiful in the eyes of the public. Many believe he used his inherited good looks to gain your infatuation and a proposal, just as they assume he has done to countless suitors that have asked for his hand in the past; just as they have often accused Mother of doing."

"That still doesn't make sense," Yuuri insisted. "I slapped Wolfram because he insulted my mother and the only reason he 'accepted' was because I hit him so hard (3). As it is Wolfram is nothing like Lady Celi, and even if he was that is no reason to assume either of them was a bad person for being attractive. And so what if many people fall for Wolfram's looks, he didn't lead them on, did he? He turned them all down, didn't he?" Yuuri paused and eyed Conrad suspiciously. "Didn't he?"

Conrad smiled. "Yes he turned each and every one of them down. He was still considered rather young for marriage when you first met and before becoming engaged to you, he had very little interest in courting or being courted. Wolfram was never able to tolerate the women of the royal court; he often said they were too catty and deceitful, obsessed with appearance and wealth. And aside from power, the gentlemen callers he received seemed interested in one thing only." Conrad trailed off and though the smile didn't leave his face, a flexing in his jaw told Yuuri that the subject was uncomfortable for him.

Yuuri tilted his head to the side and watched Conrad carefully. "…Conrad?" he asked, "What…exactly…were they interested in?"

Conrad took a deep breath and shook his head. "It's nothing. Let's just say some of them were very eager to skip straight to the wedding night…"

Yuuri nodded. "Oh, I see. I—," Yuuri blanched, "Wait, what?"

"Don't worry, Gwendal sent each and every one of those men on their way long ago," Conrad assured. He decided to leave out that they still received a couple of marriage proposal in writing every month or so for both Wolfram and Yuuri, countless people of the court trying to convince them that the royal couple would be far more satisfied marrying one of their sons or daughters than they would be marrying each other.

"That's good," Yuuri said. "Wolfram shouldn't have to put up with anyone trying to take advantage of them like that. He's a person, not an object or a prize."

Conrad smirked. "Oh trust me, Wolfram definitely didn't put up with it. Think of all the times Wolfram has chased after you with flames blazing." He chuckled. "Well, Wolfram actually caught those men when he chased them."

Yuuri cringed at the thought, but he couldn't really say he felt sympathy for those men; they brought it upon themselves for thinking they could play Wolfram like that to begin with. If anything, he felt a surge of pride for the blonde. His friend could do better than some pervy nobleman with no manners and a hidden political agenda. "I bet nearly getting burnt to a crisp sent them packing, huh?"

Conrad shook his head. "No, unfortunately Wolfram temper wasn't enough to dissuade them from pursuing him for his good looks. I believe some of them thought they would be able to tame that temper of his. That's where Gwendal had to step in and have a little 'chat' with them."

"I bet Gwendal wasn't too happy," Yuuri said.

Conrad shrugged. "It comes with the territory of looking after a young charge who has been blessed with good looks. You will probably have your hands full dealing with suitors for Greta when she is older," he pointed out. "She's already showing signs of growing up to be a lovely young woman."

Yuuri looked alarmed. "What?" he cried completely scandalized, "Absolutely not! No way am I going to let that happen; not to Greta."

"What about Greta?"

Yuuri and Conrad turned to see Wolfram and Murata making their way down the hall towards them, Greta happily skipping in front of them.

"Yeah, what about me, Papa Yuuri?" Greta asked. A wreath of flowers adorned her head and another draped around her neck like a necklace and two others around her wrists. In one hand, she clutched another flower crown, presumably for Kimi.

"Uh, nothing," Yuuri lied. "I was, uh, just telling Conrad here that I don't want Greta staying up too late tonight. I know she wants to play with Kimi, but she still needs her sleep."

Wolfram hummed. "Agreed," he said, while Greta pouted slightly.

The pout was quickly lost. "Look, Yuuri," Greta cried, rushing forward, "see my flower jewelry? Wolfram helped me make them!"

Yuuri smiled. "They're very nice, Greta."

"And look," Greta pointed to Wolfram's head, which Yuuri noticed also bore a flower crown, made entirely out of only two kinds of flowers, "I made Papa Wolf one too. And see what flowers it's made of? Do you see? It all made of Beautiful Wolframs and Filled with Yuuri's Naivetés (4)! Don't you think they go nice together?"

Wolfram blushed and Yuuri stammered, "Uh…"

Next to Wolfram, Murata snickered.

"The colors complimented each other nicely, Greta," Conrad said, diffusing the awkward tension.

"I know, don't they?" Greta giggled, spinning around with her arms held out at her sides. "And they have the names of my two favorite people in them: Papa Yuuri and Papa Wolf. Oh!" she stopped mid-twirl and clapped her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Conrad," she apologized dismayingly, "I didn't mean to leave you out like that. You're one of my most favorite people too! I love the Conrad Stands Upon the Earth flower, it's just that it didn't work with the pattern for the crown." She pouted, very much upset with what she viewed as insensitivity on her part before holding one of her arms out. "Your flower's in this one," she offered, gesturing to the flower bracelet around her wrist.

Conrad chuckled. "That's quite alright, Greta," he told the young princess, "You don't need to feel bad about living your fathers so much. I know you care about me too, you don't need to use Mother's flower for me to prove that."

"But you _are_ one of my favorites," Greta insisted stubbornly.

"Greta has a lot of favorites," Wolfram said knowingly, secretly proud that he, as well as Yuuri were ranked as her top two above everyone else. After all, they were her fathers, and no one spoiled and loved her like her fathers.

"Uh-huh," Greta nodded. "There's you and Yuuri," she began counting off on her fingers, "and Conrad and Gwendal, and Gunter and Grandma Celi, and Anissina and Gisela, and Lasagna and Doria, and Sangria and Effee, and Dakoskos," she looked down at her hands and realized she had run out of fingers to count on three fingers ago. Instead she opted for throwing her hands in the air like she was declaring a touchdown, "and now Kimi!" she announced happily. "They're all my favorites."

Yuuri sweatdropped. '_Dakoskos?..really?_'

Murata leaned down and smiled merrily at Greta. "And am I one of your favorites too, Princess Greta?"

Greta stared at him warily, her pout fixed back into place. "Are you going to keep making dirty comments towards Papa Wolfram?" she challenged.

The grin promptly slipped off Murata's face to be replaced by blank surprise. "Eh?"

Yuuri and Wolfram burst out laughing at how shocked the sage looked. Even Conrad let out a bit of laughter at the spectacle; it wasn't everyday someone managed to leave Geika speechless.

"Well," Wolfram began, taking Greta by the hand and pulling her away from the stunned wiseman. He wiped a tear of amusement away from his eye. "Let's proceed to the hospital wing. I believe we got a bit sidetracked."

Yuuri nodded, "yeah let's go."

The group continued on down the hallway, Greta humming to herself and swinging her and Wolfram's joined hands back and forth as she went.

As they neared the hospital wing, Yuuri fell into step with Wolfram. "So, Wolf…" he began hesitantly, "Are we good now?"

Wolfram looked at Greta, who turned to smile obliviously up at him, and then he looked at his fiancé. "We're good for now…" he said after a moment of silence, "But know this," he raised his fist up to Yuuri's face and shook it menacingly. "That's two strikes today," he put up two fingers. "One, two. You do _not_ want to make it to three strikes with me in one day." He leveled Yuuri with a heavy glare. "So don't do anything stupid. Remember; its three strikes and you're out!" he finished proudly, quite smug that he had remembered an aspect of that darn sport baseball enough to reference it in a threat.

Yuuri gulped. "Gotcha. I hear you loud and clear."

Wolfram's eyes raked over Yuuri's face. He seemed to find sincerity in the king's expression as he nodded his head once in satisfaction, "Glad to hear it," he declared, patting Yuuri on the back before picking up the pace, causing Yuuri to have to speed up to stay next to him.

Up ahead of them, the massive, solid oak doors of the hospital wing came into view, rapidly growing in size the closer they came to them.

"Hey looks there's Gwendal," Yuuri said, pointing.

Sure enough, at the end of the hall Gwendal and Gunter were standing in front of the hospital wing doors, one waiting impatiently with his arms crossed, just a second away from tapping his foot on the floor, the other man almost bouncing in place with his hands clasped together as he caught sight of the king and his entourage. There was also a pair of guards standing on either side of the double doors, no doubt sent by Gwendal earlier to stand guard over their flight risk of a patient.

"Your Majesty!" Gunter exclaimed, continuing to bounce up and down like an excited child at Christmas, "It's so wonderful to see you—," he trailed off mid squeal and glanced at Gwendal, the other man not looking at him but the corners of his mouth turned down. Gunter composed himself and tried to get a rein on his enthusiasm before turning back to Yuuri. "wonderful to see you, your Majesty," he said, his voice shaky as he attempted to convey his joy in a more restrained fashion. Caught between the urge to jump with joy and behave in a respectable manner, he compromised by clutching his hands tightly together in front of him and giving a very low, jerkily executed bow. "Did you enjoy your afternoon in my—," he risked another peek at Gwendal, "in our absence," he corrected himself.

Yuuri nodded. "I did," he said, "I had a little snack out in the gardens with Wolfram and Greta, Murata too. Then we all played catch with Conrad."

"How delightful," Gunter mused. "We should try and arrange a time where we can all spend time together like that. I must say I did enjoy the last time we gathered together to play 'baseball', as you call it. What about you, Gwendal?" he addressed the stoic man.

Gwendal 'hnned' in response.

Yuuri's face lit up. "That would be great!" he agreed. "A real baseball game; we haven't done that in a while. We could get some of the soldiers and servants to join us again. It could be a real blast."

"Not to cut this conversation short, your Majesty?" Gwendal interrupted, "But it would not be wise to keep Gisela waiting longer than necessary."

"Ooh, good point," Yuuri replied. "I'd rather not make her mad," he shuddered, envisioning the rather frightening image of a dark, shadowy 'sergeant mode' Gisela looming over them all. "That's just as bad as ticking off Gwen…dal…or Wolf…" he trailed off seeing the ominous looks that the two more foul tempered of the trio of brothers were giving him. "…I...nevermind," he back-tracked, "let's just go in now, 'kay." He gestured towards the doors with a sheepish grin and a nervous laugh.

Gwendal regarded Yuuri carefully before turning to the guards and tipping his head towards the doors with a quirk of his eyebrows. The guards clicked their heels together and raised a hand to their heads in a salute before reaching for the doors and holding them opening as wide as they could go.

Gunter placed his hands on Yuuri's shoulders and merrily steered him into the medic ward, mumbling something about how, 'A king should always go first' as he went. Just as they cleared the threshold and the others moved to follow them in together, the advisor's hand shot out and grabbed hold of Murata's arm and yanked him in before the rest. "Can't forget our most wonderful Great Sage."

Wolfram and Gwendal bit back a sigh (well Gwendal did, Wolfram tried but still ended up scoffing loudly) as they stepped into the medic ward, Wolfram making a point of eyeing Yuuri and passing him with a 'hmph', his nose turned up.

Gisela looked up at them as they walked in. "Oh your highness," she said quietly, "You're here, good." She came forward and gave a little bow. "Now just remember what I told you everyone: keep her calm. Try not to upset her, alright?"

Kimi was right where they had last left her, although conscious this time around as whatever Gisela had slipped Kimi for her nerves was beginning to lose effect. The girl was seated cross-legged in the middle of the same hospital bed she had been commandeering since her arrival to Shin Makoku, clutching a teacup in her hands and sipping at its contents carefully. She was dressed in a simple loose-fitting white shirt and a pair of gray night pants. One of the blankets on the bed had been pulled up and around her shoulders, the other blanket tuck up over her knees and around her waist. She was leaning over a thin book with a purple binding splayed out near the foot of the bed, but judging from the way her eyes were lazily roaming over the pages, she wasn't actually reading it.

"Kimi!" Greta bounded in and made a beeline straighter for the older girl. She hoisted herself up onto the bed and kneeling, she threw her arms about Kimi's neck.

Wolfram let the smallest hint of a smile grace his features. "It seems Greta has really bonded quite quickly with her," he commented.

Greta leaned back and took Kimi's hands in hers. "How're you feeling?" she asked worriedly. "I'm sorry about what happened in the garden. I only brought you out there because I thought you might like to see the flowers in bloom."

Kimi smiled wearily at her. "I'm fine Greta," she assured. "I just…this has been a very tiring day, you know? It's a lot to take in."

Greta nodded. "Papa Yuuri's told me a lot of things about his old home on Earth," she said, "He's taken me there once or twice too, but I only got to see a little bit of Japan." She patted the top of Kimi's hands sympathetically. "Earth is very different from Shin Makoku, huh?" she asked.

"…Yeah," Kimi nodded, "it sure is, kid. So," she turned to glance at the royal entourage standing in the doorway, "Your father's from Earth too? From Japan?"

"Well one of us is," Yuuri answered for her.

Kimi cocked an eyebrow at him, probably trying to puzzle out for herself the whole, 'Greta has two teenage daddies' thing.

"Long story," Yuuri shrugged, "Anyway, Wolfram was born and raised here in Shin Makoku. I'm from Earth. In fact, both Murata and I are from Japan."

"Saitama to be exact," Murata added. "Well, technically I was born in Hong Kong and Yuuri in the US, but Japan is where we called home for most of our lives."

Kimi nodded. "I might have guessed," she murmured, "that you're Japanese I mean. Your names pretty much give it away. Only, I couldn't be sure. I mean, this place is so…out there, and I seemed to be the only weirded out by it all."

"We've been here longer than you," Yuuri explained. "Trust me, when I first came here I was freaked out too."

"I'll take your word for it," Kimi replied.

"You know," Murata spoke up, "Your name isn't what I'd call commonly Japanese either. Kim Lee," he let the name roll over his tongue, "You sure that isn't Korean?"

Kimi smiled, "You're not the first person to ask me that. None of my friends ever thought it was a real Japanese name and my parents wouldn't say otherwise. Mom always said that she just liked the name, no other reason." She ran a hand through her hair and rolled her eyes.

Yuuri sighed, "I can relate." He sent a little glare towards Conrad.

Greta glanced down from her spot on the bed to the book laid out near Kimi. "Hey, what're reading, Kimi?" she asked.

"Oh, uh nothing really," Kimi shrugged. "It's one of the books you brought me earlier. It was the cover that caught my attention, really." She held up the purple book and flipped it closed to show a bright colorful picture of a flowery, forest grove on the front.

"Ah," Greta leaned over and took the book. "I remember this one," she said, going through some pages. She settled down leaning comfortably against Kimi like she was staying for the long haul. "It's just a picture book, no words in it for the most part. I got it for with Cousin El when he comes to visit." She looked over her shoulder at Kimi. "He's little," she explained, "he's not old enough to read yet."

Kimi nodded. "Well that's part of the reason I chose this book," she said, "It gave me something to look at to occupy my time. I couldn't really read any of the other books you brought."

"Oh sorry about that," Greta apologized, "I forgot, the alphabet in Japan is very different from ours. These books are all in Mazoku."

"Someone will have to teach you our language," Gunter offered helpfully.

"Yeah, about that," Kimi began slowly, playing with a loose thread in her blankets, "When are you guys…you know, sending me back?"

Everyone suddenly became very interested in the walls and floor of the medic ward, looking anywhere but at Kimi and shifting uncomfortably. From the opposite side of the room, Gisela was shaking her head at everyone, waving her hands back and forth. "Don't upset her," she mouthed over the top of Kimi's head.

"Uh…" Yuuri stammered, "About that…" he scratched the back of his head nervously, "we don't exactly…know?" It was more of a question than a statement, as though Yuuri wanted to tell Kimi the truth, but only if she was okay with it.

Kimi blinked. "…what was that?" her voice was deadly quiet and she was giving Yuuri a look that clearly read '_Do NOT say what I think you are saying_.'

"What his Majesty means to say," Gunter explained quickly, "is that you have been summoned here for an undeterminable amount of time."

At these words, Kimi stiffened, inhaling sharply through her nose. "I'm fine," she shot out weakly as Gisela moved to comfort her.

The green haired healer settled for resting her hands on Kimi's shoulders.

"You were saying?" Kimi addressed Gunter, her voice a few octaves higher.

"At the moment, we are not entirely sure when you will be able to return to Earth," Gunter said slowly. "I assure you that once we know more we will inform you as promptly as we can and see if your return can be made possible."

"So I'm stuck here?" Kimi asked rigidly.

"For now."

Gisela's grip tightened on Kimi's shoulders as the girl seized up again.

"Fine," Kimi squeaked. She took a deep breath and let it out through her mouth, "I'm fine, please continue."

"I know staying here is not your first choice," Gunter said, "or a choice at all for that matter," he rectified. "But please know that we and the servants of Blood Pledge castle will do whatever possible to make your stay in our world as comfortable and enjoyable as we can."

"I see," Kimi murmured. She pulled the blankets wrapped around her tighter against her small frame, the material coming up to engulf her neck and shoulders. "So we don't even know when I will be able to go home again?" She pulled her pillow over to clutch it tightly against her chest. "Mom's going to be worried," she said sadly, resting her cheek against the pillow. She looked so small sitting there; a lost little girl in a land of strangers.

"Hey," Yuuri said, coming forward to rest a hand on her knee. He crouched down in front of the bed so that he could look up into Kimi's downturned face. "Hey now, don't look so sad," he pleaded. "There's really nothing to be worried about. You're among friends and we'll look after you. And depending on when we are able to send you back home, your mother may not have even realized that you even left."

Kimi looked at Yuuri questioningly. "What do you mean?"

"Time passes much slower on Earth than it does here. Trust me on this; the first time I came here I ended up staying for around a week before I was unexpectedly sent back to Earth. There, it was still the same day I had originally left for the demon world; I don't even think an hour had gone by since I had left!"

"It's true Miss Kimi," Conrad added. "I myself have spent some time on Earth in the past and time does not pass nearly as quickly there as it does here."

"That is really slow," Kimi agreed, coming out slightly from her cocoon blanket, "So my parents might not even know I'm gone? I won't be missing anything?"

"You'll barely miss a thing," Yuuri promised. "Think of your time here as…an adventure," he declared happily, smacking a fist into the palm of his other hand as he stood up, "yeah, that's it, an adventure!" He grinned broadly at Kimi and then gestured to everyone around him, "I'm sure you used to play pretend as a kid, right? Dreaming of seeing wizards and dragons and going on epic adventures to faraway fantastic places, all from your backyard. Well think of this as a golden opportunity to live out those dreams." He pulled Wolfram and Conrad over to him and gestured to the swords strapped to their belts. "Guarded by trusted and fiercely loyal knights," he continued, "exploring secret passageways, horseback riding and carriage rides; a whole big ren faire, except it's all real!"

Yuuri was merrily laying on the descriptions quite thickly with rising enthusiasm, completely oblivious to confused looks he was getting from those in the room who did not have the experience and understanding of Earth culture that you could only get by living there.

"What's a ren faire?" Wolfram whispered to Murata.

"A renaissance faire; a festival reenacting the days of Yore," Murata replied.

"…days of what?" Wolfram asked.

Murata just smirked.

Yuuri was still prattling on enthusiastically to Kimi about all the 'Wonders of Shin Makoku,' with Greta more than happy to chime in from time to time with her own two cents.

"We can take you on a real tour of the castle," Yuuri exclaimed.

"And there are other cool castles too," Greta added.

Yuuri nodded, "That's right. Not only do the ten most powerful nobles in Shin Makoku have their own castle estates, but the human territories have kingdoms of their own."

"There're humans here?" Kimi asked. "I thought this was the 'demon world'."

"The demon Kingdom only makes up a part of this world," Yuuri explained, "We're allied with several of the human territories and kingdoms in this world. We're," he laughed sheepishly, "we're still working on alliances with the others…"

"Cavalcade is a human Kingdom (5)," Greta piped up, "That's where my friend Beatrice is from, remember I told you that."

"You know what else we have here," Yuuri said with a wide albeit mischievous grin, "…_dragons_."

"D-dragons?" Kimi asked eyes wide and inquisitive, caught between fear and excitement. "Dragons are real here? You have dragons in Shin Makoku?"

Yuuri's grin widened even more; glad to see the formerly forlorn girl had perked up a bit. "There aren't any dragons in the kingdom itself," he clarified, "They're all up in the mountains, but I've seen them."

"Me too!" Greta added. "They were at the castle when cousin El first came to visit as a baby."

"That was just a onetime thing," Yuuri assured Kimi, who had decided upon fear being the appropriate reaction to dragons after that last tidbit. "And there were only two dragons; a mother and her baby…her all grown up baby, Pochi. We had met them once before in the forest surrounding the mountains, back when Pochi was still small enough to carry around." Yuuri chuckled, "He was a cute little guy. I think you would have liked to see him for yourself. If you want, I could see if we could go see him sometime."

"Maybe…" Kimi replied warily. She had just found out the big fire-breathing reptiles from her fairytales were actually real, she wasn't sure if she was ready for an up close encounter with one.

"Well," Wolfram huffed as he lightly shoved Yuuri out of the way, "If you want to discuss less dangerously life threatening creatures," he gave Yuuri a little glare, "a former guest wing of our very castle is home to birthing grounds of dozens of bear-bees." He regarded Kimi with a critical eye. "I'm sure a young woman such as yourself would find their harmless appearance a far more pleasant visit while you are still getting used to things than that of a dragon."

Kimi stared blankly at him for a few seconds. "…what the heck is a bear-bee?"

"In comparison to a dragon, it's more harmless than air," Wolfram replied.

"That's not fair, Wolf," Yuuri protested, "You know as well as I do that Pochi was hardly dangerous. You even said he was cute!"

"True, but dragons as a whole are a species capable of incredible damage," Gunter pointed out, grievous at having to correct his precious ruler.

"And as cute and cuddly as Pochi was he did end up taking out a section of the castle roof during his visit, unintentional though it was," Wolfram said matter-of-factly.

"Not to mention child endangerment," Gwendal added gruffly.

"That too," Wolfram agreed, "Though once again unintentional. Now," he turned to Yuuri, "you rudely interrupted me while I was talking to Kimi. I believe an apology is in order," he smirked.

Yuuri frowned, "fine. I'm sorry, _Kimi_."

Wolfram rolled his eyes and Kimi giggled into her pillow.

Once Wolfram's back was turned, Yuuri stuck his tongue out at him.

"Anyway," Wolfram continued, "As I was saying, the bear-bees live here in the castle. Well, their nest and eggs do. New bear-bees are born here every year. But they are completely harmless so you have nothing to worry about."

"Right, but what are they?" Kimi asked.

"They're super cute!" Greta declared from besides her. "If I could find a picture of them, I'd show you."

"I have one, your highness," Gisela offered helpfully. She rummaged around in the folders and files on her desk for a moment before a smile lit up her face and she pulled out a piece of paper. "You drew this for me a while ago, Princess Greta," she explained, "I've had it here in the medic ward ever since. I like to have it around to show my patients what a lovely gift it is." She handed the paper to Greta.

Greta was practically glowing from the praise. "Thank you Gisela." Greta took the proffered picture and held it out for Kimi to look at. "This is a bear-bee," she said.

Kimi looked down at the paper. On it was a crayon drawing of a swarm of very unusual creatures. They had the arms, legs, and heads of a bear (looking more like stuffed animals in adorability than actual bears) with soft-looking pink fur, but with little bug-like wings and round torsos colored in black and yellow stripes reminiscent of a bee. They even had little antenna perched atop their heads.

Kimi stared in confusion and bemusement. "These things actually exist?"

Greta nodded, "uh-huh. Not too many places in Shin Makoku have them anymore; they're a rare species. Aren't they cute?"

Kimi glanced at the drawing again. After a moment of thought she conceded with a soft smile, "Yes, they're very cute."

"You know," Gisela began, "they say petting an animal can have very therapeutic attributes. Perhaps Kimi would benefit from visiting the bear-bees."

"Excellent point," Wolfram agreed. "You could probably handle a meeting with something as innocent as those creatures, I trust?" Wolfram asked Kimi.

"I…suppose so…" Kimi replied.

"That's a great idea!" Greta exclaimed. "We have other animals around the castle that you may like too! There're cats and horses, and this adorable little bunny that hides in the garden and eats the flowers when nobody's looking." Her face turned suddenly serious and she leaned in with a hushed whisper, "he has to do it when nobody's around, or else the gardener gets mad and throws his hats at him." She pulled away with a solemn nod of her head.

Kimi bit back a laugh; Greta seemed so serious about the daring misadventures of a little mischievous rabbit. "I think I would like to go see some animals."

"Excellent!" Gunter declared. "While we're at it, perhaps I could finally give you a tour of the castle. Oh, what a marvelous idea!"

"Hold on now," Gisela intervened, coming forward to place a hand firmly on her father's shoulder. "One thing at a time, father. Kimi isn't fully healed yet, nor has she rested nearly enough. I do not want you overwhelming her." She moved over to Kimi and titled the girl's face up towards her. "Now Kimi," she began, prodding the underside of Kimi's neck, "You may go with Greta and the others for now and have a _quick_ visit with the bear-bees." She turned Kimi's head this way and that and carefully cupped her hands around the girl's neck just over the bandages. She smoothed her thumbs back and forth across the gauze, gauging Kimi's reaction for any signs of discomfort. Finding little to none, she continued, "You're making a remarkable recovery, but I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to come back to spend the night here. Now I'll be with you, same as last night so you won't be alone."

"How many more nights does she have to stay here, Gisela?" Murata inquired.

"Well," Gisela mused, "I would like to keep an eye on her for a bit. It is crucial that her neck heals quickly and efficiently to avoid any severe scarring." She tapped Kimi's bandages lightly before moving away. "If Kimi is able to sleep through tonight without her injury being reopened, then I'll conceded to her being healed enough to be moved to a guest room tomorrow." She gave Kimi a stern look, "But you would have to come back for regular check-ups for a while."

"That's fine," Gwendal said. "We already have a room being set up for her."

"Gisela?" Greta asked, "Is Kimi going to have to eat dinner here alone too?"

Gisela smiled. "Of course not, Princess," she replied. "I'll be here too. Kimi won't be alone."

"B-but if Kimi is okay enough to go with us to see the bear-bees, don't you think it would be alright for her to eat with us tonight?"

"Well…"

"If it would make you feel better, Gisela," Yuuri offered, "we can have the maids set a spot at the table for you as well. That way you can keep an eye on things. Okay?"

Gisela thought about it for a moment. Finally she nodded, "Okay. That could work."

"That means you'll be having dinner with me," Gunter said happily. "It will be so wonderful to have my daughter enjoying a meal with me in the main dining room with his Majesty!" He pulled Gisela to him and embraced her.

"Calm down, father," Gisela protested, pushing away from her father's grasp. "Really now, that is enough."

Everyone (minus the forever grumpy Gwendal) laughed at the little display of affection by the excitable man and his daughter.

"Gisela's right, Gunter," Yuuri chided, "We really should get going if we plan on showing Kimi the bear-bees before dinner."

Greta hopped down off the hospital bed as Yuuri held a hand out to Kimi and waited patiently for her to take it. "Ready to go, Kimi," he asked as he helped her off the bed.

Kimi smiled, "Yeah."

"Come on, come on," Greta cried joyously, "Let's get going." She latched onto Kimi's arm and began tugging her towards the door, only loosening her hold when she heard Gisela sternly remind her, "Gently, Greta. She's still healing."

The others chuckled (except Gwendal) and proceeded towards the door after the young pair. As Yuuri and Wolfram departed, followed by a cheerfully gushing Gunter and peacefully pleasant Conrad, Murata stayed behind. He lingered by the door until everyone else had passed and then moved to approach Gisela. Only Gwendal took notice of the Great Sage's absence in the hallway; he waited a moment for the group to disappear down the hall before reentering the medic ward and coming over to stand besides Murata.

"Gisela," Murata began, "I was hoping you could divulge with us the exact details of Kimi's recovery. The extent of her healing, if you will; this remarkable recovery she is making."

Gwendal hummed in agreement.

Gisela sighed. "You caught that, huh?" she asked. "I had a feeling you might." She walked over to her desk and pulled out a notebook. Motioning Murata and Gwendal closer, she flipped to one of the most recent pages; one covered in various scrawling of notes and markings, and held it out for the two men to see. "When I initially examined Kimi's wounds, I focused mostly on healing the most severe damage to her neck; the deepest tears, the places where bleeding wouldn't stem on its own. I assume that is what the shrine maidens did too. You see we still aren't entirely sure what we are dealing with here and as most humans do not take to maryoku usage on their bodies as easily as Mazoku, we don't want to risk using too much on Kimi in case she is human, or at least half human. Her wound wasn't too deep, mind you. It was a matter of where it was located that caused such urgency; the throat isn't that extraordinarily thick and a slit throat can kill quite effectively. Had the gash been on her arm or a leg maybe, I'd be less concerned. So I healed what I could and left the rest for normal medicine and bed rest to take care of. I estimated that the process would be a gradual one following the course of the next few weeks, maybe a little less provided no infection flares up."

"However," Gwendal prompted.

"However," Gisela shook her head and sighed. "I'm at a bit of a loss now. Kimi had a stored language memory of the Mazuko language, meaning she either lived a past life here or was taught it by her parents. But it's only a fractured bit of the language; memories of a past life as a Mazoku should have maintained all the knowledge, not just a fragment, or she wouldn't remember it at all. And from what we have all seen, Kimi didn't even believe in our kind or our world before coming here yesterday, so it's doubtful she was taught our language by her parents. She seems to be the run of the mill human, other than being summoned here."

"The prophecy never did say whether the one sent to us would be demon or human," Murata said.

Gisela nodded. "She believes she is human and knows nothing other than being one. I'd say she is human, or at the very least half human. A full blooded demon would be a stretch for us to assume with her knowing nothing of our existence. But…"

"But?" Murata asked.

"Things don't seem to add up here," Gisela said again, flipping through her notes. Her eyes fell on a particular section and she held the book back out to Murata, pointing out the segment on the proffered page. "Look," she said, "This is where things start getting confusing. As a human, Kimi's neck should take weeks to fully heal over. Even as a half demon, she would lack the magic to treat herself and would heal at a human rate. But…," Gisela trailed off and shook her head. "Kimi's progress is…well she's healing faster than I anticipated."

"How much faster?" inquired Gwendal.

"At the rate she's healing, the wound should be gone by the end of the week," Gisela answered.

Gwendal and Murata stood in silence and let Gisela's words sink in.

"So she's healing as fast as a demon would," Gwendal surmised.

Gisela nodded. "It would seem so."

"Perhaps Kimi isn't as human as we all assumed," Murata said, his eyes obscured by the light glinting off his glasses.

"You're not really that surprised," Gisela stated, "are you, Geika? Care to enlighten us?"

Murata just grinned.

"Well, regardless of what Geika has known but neglected to tell us," Gwendal said with a slight twitch of the vein in his forehead, "there are still many questions to be answered. If Kim Lee can used maryoku then she, for all intent and purposes should be a full blooded demon. Heika is the only half demon I can think of being capable of using maryoku, and that is only because of the maoh's powers. Yet Kim Lee knows nothing of demons and has lived out her whole life as a human. Short of dredging up her entire family tree, there is really no way of knowing what she is at the moment." He glanced at the Great Sage, "Unless there is anything else someone would like to inform us of."

"I assure you, I'm just as baffled as you are," Murata protested merrily.

"Excuse me," Gisela interrupted the pairs little stare down. "I'm sure this is all very fascinating to you both from a more analytical perspective," she began, "but the reason I am concerned about this matter is solely with Kimi's welfare in mind."

"We're concerned for Kim Lee's health in this matter as well," Gwendal insisted.

"No you're not," Gisela said. She shook her head, "I mean, yes, I'm sure that you do overall care for Kimi's well being. She's a young girl in your care and you take that seriously, as do I. But your concern for this specific matter is more from your interest in knowing more about your prophetic warrior. You want to know what her abilities and limitations are so that you can figure out how much of an impact she will hold in the prophecy you keep fixating over." Gisela went to set the notebook back down on her desk and turned back around with her arms folded over her chest. "The reason _I_ am searching for answers to Kimi's origin are for her benefit and hers alone."

"Perhaps it would be best if you would explain what you mean," Gwendal suggested, his brow furrowed.

"Kimi is scared right now," Gisela stated. "Fragile even, we've already established that. Kimi has no clue why it is so important for her to be here and I imagine when it's fully explained, she is going to have quite a lot of objections to being viewed as some sort of secret weapon." She glared at Gwendal and Murata, her disapproval in the matter made quite clear in her steely gaze. "I mean, why wouldn't she? As far as Kimi is concerned, she is just an ordinary human girl from Earth. She probably wouldn't like to think of herself as weak in any case, but I'm sure she doesn't view herself as being capable of assisting an entire demon nation as the mere human she views herself as now."

"If there is a chance that Kimi is of demon blood in any way, it is important that the matter be handled delicately and the news broken to her in a sensitive, careful manner. Being a Mazoku could help give Kimi a sense of belonging and make her stay here easier if it is presented as a chance to get to know her demon heritage," Gisela elaborated. "Or it could possibly scare her even more to not only be in a world she doesn't understand, but also being in and of herself something she no longer understands. Kimi's acceptance or rejection of her situation is directly related to her mental health. That's why I've been so adamant about her avoiding stressful situations." Gisela leaned against her desk and stretched her legs out. "As it is, knowing what race she is could help greatly in determining proper treatment for her should Kimi need it at any time in the future. As both her healer and her friend, as her confidant in such trying times it is important for me to know all there is about her physical identity and health in order to better assist her. So you can imagine why the baffling results of her examination have caught my interest."

"I would say that's pretty understandable," Murata agreed. "I suppose only time will tell what Kimi's heritage is. Short of risking her health further in a one of Anissina's faulty inventions, there is little we can do to prove her heritage. Maybe as we get to know her, evidence will begin to point us in a more obvious direction."

"Unless of course you could be so kind to enlighten us to what you or Shinou Heika might know," Gwendal said, eyeing Murata suspiciously.

"I swear to you that I know nothing, Lord von Voltaire," Murata insisted, a cheeky grin gracing his face.

"As far as determining Kimi's race goes," Gisela interjected loudly, "we will cross that bridge when we get to it. While I would love to get answers on the matter as soon as I can, the fact remains that there is little we can do to extract the information. Kimi was born and raised on Earth; it isn't like there is anyone here who would be able to recognize her or inform us of her origins. For now, let's just focus on making sure she is happy and comfortable here."

Gwendal and Murata nodded. "Agreed."

**ThisIsALineOfTransition**

**ThisIsOneToo**

**HereToo  
**

"This way," Greta whispered.

"Slow down, Greta," Wolfram called as he carefully stepped over a dilapidated armchair.

Yuuri grunted and batted his way through a veil of spider webs. "Yeah, wait for us." He caught a small little spider creeping its way up over his shoulder and let out a yelp, flinging his arm around attempting to dislodge it to no avail. Wolfram finally became fed up with his antics and snatched his arm up mid-flail to casually flick the many legged stowaway out of sight, causing Yuuri to grin abashedly at him. "…Thanks."

Greta was leading the group along the dimly lit hallway of the castle's abandoned wing. Provided with only the sparse soft glow of sunlight invading in thin rays through the crumbling ceiling, they stumbled along a path strewn with fallen chandeliers and lopsided end-tables bearing broken, splintered legs. The walls along the hall had once been a light pastel blue, but a lack of maintenance and falling into disrepair had caused them to fade and become riddle with cracks and cobwebs, resembling more of a haunted funhouse than a wing of a royal residence. It was clear not as much lavish decorating and modeling went into the guest wing as the rest of the castle; while it was nicely furnished (at one time), it lacked the plush, rich carpets and expensive marble moldings, the floor and banisters replaced with simple high quality mahogany. There were large, golden ornate picture frames lying on the floor and propped haphazardly against the walls, only a few had been separated from the paintings deemed salvageable before the guest wing had been abandoned to the nesting bear-bees.

"This place has really let itself go since the first time we came here," Yuuri observed, "eh, Wolf?"

"Well that was a good few years back," Wolfram replied, "time has a way of doing that to a place if you don't take care of it. It's a good thing we took the long way in. I would rather not have Greta and Kimi have to propel down through that hole in the floor at the front door that we fell through the first time came here." He darted ahead and intercepted Greta just before she attempted to climb over a broken chandelier lying on its side, opting to pick his daughter up and edge his way around the hazardous thing before putting her down and letting her walk on her own again.

It made somewhat sense that most of the decorations in the hall had been left to decay, as Gunter had explained. Seeing as the residency of the palace was made up of the demon king and high ranking and inherently wealthy nobles, why should they go out of their way to salvage property that they could easily replace, probably with bigger and better gold inlaid features? The loss of a single guest wing was inconsequential in the grand scheme of things; the wing was provided to the guest for temporary visit, not their property to worry over damage and a new wing could easily be provided or built with the funding of the Ten Nobles in their ongoing attempts to rub shoulders with the highest of society and further impress the Maou.

"Whoa," Kimi's foot caught on a loose floorboard and she fell forward, pinwheeling her arms in an attempt to catch something to steady herself on. Conrad caught her by the elbows just before she hit the floor and helped her back up onto her feet. "Thanks," she said. "It's hard to see where I'm going in here. How much farther is it, Greta?" Kimi called to the little princess moving swiftly over the ruble up ahead of her.

Greta leapt over an upturned end-table and bounded over to a staircase and disappeared from sight. "Down here!"

"Greta," Wolfram called, "don't go too far on your own." He hurried after her, Yuuri in tow.

At the foot of the stairs was a basement of some sort, the rafters and support beams of the floor above them making up the majority of the structure. Not too far ahead of them, Greta had come to a set of large wooden doors hanging precariously off their hinges. She cupped her hands to the side of her face and peered through the slight opening in the doors before pulling back with a broad smile as she turned around to face the others. "Through here," she whispered eagerly.

Kimi looked around at the four men standing beside her, noticing that their attention was fixed on her, as was Greta's, all of them waiting for her to move first. Kimi nervously fidgeted with her hands and moved forward at a snail's pace towards the doors, picking her way around a broken vase and side stepping another corner of a floorboard sticking up from the floor.

Taking notice of Kimi's hesitancy, Greta's smile took on a more reassuring look. "Come on," she chided softly, beckoning the girl forward with a wave of her hand. "Come on, it's alright."

Kimi came to stand next to Greta, an uneasy and forced attempt at a lighthearted grin on her face.

Conrad came to assist Greta in pushing one of the doors open with a bit of effort, the hinges creaking in protest.

As Greta stepped through the doorway, she turned back to Kimi and held her hand out to her. "Come on, trust me," she said, "There's nothing to be afraid of."

Kimi stared at her outstretched hand for a moment. Cautiously she reached forward and took Greta's hand.

'Trust me," Greta said again, "and close your eyes."

Kimi gave Greta a wary look. With the rest of the group following behind her, she took a deep breath and closing her eyes she allowed herself to be led over the threshold of the door.

For a minute or so the room was silent. The only sound heard was the soft wheezing of Kimi's breathing, the girl too nervous and anxious to breathe out her nose. She clutched at Greta's hand like a lifeline and let herself be led blindly, stepping cautiously across the floor, holding her free hand out for balance as she tried to feel out a safe path with her feet.

She wasn't exactly sure what she should expect to see. The very concept of a bear-bumblebee hybrid seemed completely ridiculous, something really out there in left field. The drawing Greta showed her made them seem cute and harmless enough, but that was just a doodle from a child's perspective. What if these creatures really looked like real life bears; all claws and beady black eyes of death and teeth, lots of teeth? What if they were massive monstrosities, roaming about the castle in lumbering steps that threaten to pitch forward at any moment and crush the life out of a grown man (or puny girl at that)?

Kimi felt the presence of a hand on her shoulder and then someone's breath puffing against the side of her neck as they leaned up to whisper in her ear.

"Open your eyes, Kimi," Greta said, giving her hand a little squeeze.

Kimi mentally braced herself for the worse, just in case, and then slowly opened her eyes.

And bit back a gasp.

"Oh…wow..."

The entire room was bathed in a light glow of blue and turquoise. Various holes in the high, decaying ceiling allowed sunlight to filter in and rest upon towering pillars of large, bulbous woven mounds stuck together in clumps, reaching up from the ground towards the sky. They almost looked like weird, distorted honeycombs in the pale light, attached to the walls and wooden beams by dozens of thin, sticky strings. Some even hung down from the ceiling. By the looks of it, they all had some sort of hole on them from where their living contents broke free. These were cocoons, huge, gigantic cocoons. Kimi would have been very bothered by this discovery if she hadn't seen who had made them.

Flittering back and forth in the air around the odd pillars was an entire flock of bear-bees. They spun and dipped around the room in lazily circles over Kimi's head. It was just as Greta's picture had shown; they were like cute, winged teddy bears. They really were such adorable creatures. A few floated above Kimi and the others, looking down upon them curiously and wiggling their noses at them.

"Aren't they wonderful?" Greta asked excitedly. She clung to Kimi's arm and shook it slightly in her excitement.

Kimi stared up in awe at the furry little beings floating back and forth before her. She smiled. "Yeah," she said dreamily, "they really are."

"Nogisu!"

One of the bear-bees swooped down to hover in front of them. Up close these creatures were no bigger than the width and length of Kimi's torso, about the size of a large stuffed animal like the ones handed out at carnival game booths.

The bear-bee tilted its head cutely to the side. "Nogisu?" it chirped in an adorably squeaky voice. Its nose twitched and its ears wiggled.

Next to Kimi, Greta bit back a little squeal.

"Uh," Kimi stammered. She raised her hand up and waved weakly, "…hi there."

The bear-bee leaned in close enough to Kimi that their noses were touching. "Nogi," it began sniffing Kimi's face, "Nogisu."

Kimi giggled as the little, twitching button nose ran across her cheekbones and forehead. "H-hey," she laughed, "that tickles."

The bear-bee paused to look at her, its little black eyes shining warmly. It began to scan over the rest of the people in her party. Looking at a point past Kimi's shoulder, its eyes lit up. "Nogisu!" it cried happily. It zipped past Kimi and barreled straight into Yuuri's chest. "Nogisu," it snuggled against Yuuri and rubbed its nose against his shirt.

Yuuri laughed. "Well I guess this one is one of ours," he said, hugging the bear-bee close.

"Well some of these are our children," Wolfram pointed out. He stepped forward and clapped his hands, calling the attention of the rest of the swarm flying overhead. A few of them let out little squeals and chirps of surprise before zooming down to Wolfram's open arms. They rubbed against him and nuzzled his face, chattering all the while.

Wolfram smiled. "Did you miss your daddies that badly?" he asked, scratching one bear-bee behind the ears, "you just saw us a few days ago." He laughed as some of the bear-bees gathered around him began to lick at his face.

"Wait," Kimi said in confusion, "your children? How the heck did that happen?"

"It's quite the story," Yuuri began, struggling to be seen over the mass of flying, striped teddy bears crowding him for affection, "Wolfram and I accidentally found this place when we were investigating the wing for the scary monster everyone believed lived here," he jerked a thumb at one of the bear-bees, "these guys, in reality. Anyway we ended up in their nesting place around the time some of these little guys were hatching. Their own parents had unfortunately passed away before they hatched and because Wolfram and I smelled like them, they mistook us for their parents."

"Smelled like them?" Kimi asked, quirking an eyebrow at Yuuri.

"We were painting early that day," Wolfram explained, "The paint I use is high quality stuff made from the excrement of bear-bees."

"It stinks like you wouldn't believe," Yuuri cut in.

"It really is a rather potent scent," Gunter added, patting the head of a bear-bee that had drifted close enough to him.

Wolfram nodded. "Potent enough that these little guys picked it up and imprinted upon us as their parents." He looked up to the rest of the bear-bees flying about them, "Of course not all of these are ours. It's been a few years since our eggs hatched. They've all come back each year since then and had kids of their own, and those kids went on to have kids of their own too. We have quite a few grandkids and great-grandkids here."

"_Nogisu!"_ a loud voice boomed.

"Wah!" Kimi jumped back with a start as an enormous bear-bee came down and landed in front of her, its massive height making it tower over her. "W-what the heck?"

"It's alright," Yuuri said, clapping her on the shoulder. He moved past her to pat the bear-bee on its stomach, the large creature cooing happily as its tummy was rubbed. "This big guy here is like the leader of these guys. He hatched with the rest of our 'kids' back then. I like to call him Beary."

"Such an undignified name," Wolfram muttered.

Yuuri ignored him.

"I see," Kimi edged cautiously over to Yuuri and the big bear-bee. "N-nice to meet you…" she held a hand out to the bear-bee, unsure of whether she should pet it or not.

Beary bent down and touched his nose to the palm of her hand, sniffing. After a few seconds of nosing her hand, he let out a loud bellow of "Nogisu!" and began rubbing his head against her palm in affection.

Yuuri smiled. "He likes you!"

Kimi laughed. "Yeah, I guess he does." She petted the plush fur of Beary's head with vigor now. "He's really soft," she murmured. "Wait…" she paused and gave Beary a once over. "How do you know he's a he?" she asked. "There's nothing on these guys to tell their genders apart."

Yuuri frowned, mulling the question over in his head. "I'm…not sure," he said finally, shrugging his shoulders. "I sort of just know. I mean," he gestured to Beary, "Beary's a boy's name and he looks like a Beary to me."

Kimi eyed him bemusedly. "Riiiiight." She turned her attention back to Beary. "Anyway these guys sure are cute." She looked back and Wolfram snuggling with the smaller bear-bees and then look back up at Beary. She raised her arms hesitantly, then shrugged her shoulders in a 'what the hell sort of way, and flung herself forward against Beary's stomach, hugging him around the middle. "And cuddly too."

"It's a shame Gwendal didn't come with us," Gunter mused as he and Conrad petted the bear-bees nearest to them. "Wherever he and Murata went off to, they're missing some quality time with these sweet little creatures." He pulled one bear-bee into a hug which was happily returned. "An animal blessed enough to be hatched by the Maou himself, what an honor for them."

"I'm sure wherever Gwendal is his head must be spinning," Conrad joked, "his cute senses on full alert."

"Yeah," Yuuri agreed, "Like spidey senses!"

His comment was met by silence and looks of confusion.

"I get it," Kimi assure him, "It was funny. I used to read that comic too."

"Really?" Yuuri asked. His whole face lit up. "Awesome!"

"_Anyway_," Wolfram cut in, eyeing the pair, "Kimi, it looks like you are enjoying yourself here. Do you feel better now?"

Kimi nodded. "I do," she said. She buried her face into Beary's fur. "The fuzz therapy is working nicely," she murmured, her voice muffled.

"You're lucky you got to see them like this," Greta said, holding one of the smaller bear-bees in her arms, "They just hatched from their cocoons a few days ago. Pretty soon they will migrate out of here for the year and won't be back until they are ready to lay their own eggs."

"Yeah and you probably would have had a harder time to adjusting to these guys if you saw them _before_ they made their cocoons," Yuuri added. "Before that, when they hatched from their eggs, they didn't exactly look like bears."

"What did they look like?" Kimi asked.

"…ten-foot caterpillars…"

"…you're right…I'm glad I didn't meet them then."

Everyone laughed at that. "They weren't so bad," Yuuri assured her. "They were a little startling at first, but they didn't mean any harm and did no more than tickle and rub against us when we first met them."

"Nogisu?"

Beary was looking down at Kimi. She had stopped petting him during her discussion with the others and he wasn't onboard with this development. He leaned forward and nuzzled the top of her head. "Nogisu."

"Ah, sorry about that, big guy," Kimi soothed, rubbing her hands along his fur and patting his head, "I didn't forget about you."

"Nogisu!" Beary licked the side of her face, making her laugh.

"Ew," Kimi giggled, "Beary slobber!"

Greta came over with her arms full of newly hatched bear-bee. "So Kimi," she said, "How do you feel about staying in Shin Makoku now?"

Kimi turned to look at her, her hands once again stilling in Beary's fur. She thought about it for a moment and Greta was dismayed to see the look of sadness Kimi wore in the hospital wing return to her face. Kimi bit her lip, "Well I…" she trailed off.

"Kimi?" Greta asked hesitantly, feeling a little guilty for having brought it up at all. She releases the bear-bee she was holding to move closer to Kimi, unsure what she should do to make her feel better.

Seeing the little princess so upset for her, Kimi sighed. Kneeling down, she placed a hand on Greta's shoulder. "I feel a little bit better," she told Greta, giving a little halfhearted smile, more for Greta's sake than anything else. "I don't feel a hundred percent about this but I feel better. I guess it won't be so sad being away from home for a while," her smile turned momentarily sad and bittersweet before she shook it off and her features set into one of mocked seriousness, "But I don't expect to go through this alone." She wagged her finger at Greta, "You're gonna be with me all the way, right Greta?"

Greta beamed at her, "All the way!" she said, "You can count on me."

Kimi pulled her into a hug, "Glad to hear it."

"Don't forget you've got us too, Kimi," Yuuri reminded.

The demon king and the others stood before Kimi and Greta, smiling kindly down at them. The bear-bees floated around them spouting off their cute little phrase of "Nogisu," here and there.

"His highness is right, Miss Kimi," Conrad agreed, "We only want you to be happy here and we will do whatever it takes to ensure you enjoy your stay."

Gunter and Wolfram nodded.

Kimi's smile widened. "Thank you everyone. That really means a lot to me." She reached out to pet Beary, who was snuffling at her hair and shoulders, and took in the carefree way the bear-bees merrily flitted back and forth, the light streaming down from the floor above and giving the room a calm, warm glow. She thought of the smiling faces of Gisela and the maids who had brought her food and clothes, of the massive, fairytale-like castle she was in, of the vast fields of exotic fruits and flowers out in the garden and how the sweet the air smell among the fresh blossoms.

Kimi flexed her fingers in Beary's soft, warm fur, earning herself a rumble of contentment in return. She took in all the happy, smiling faces in front of her and chuckled softly. "Maybe being stuck here for a little while won't be too bad."

* * *

I really did try to end this chapter on a not so sappy note, but that is really hard to avoid when dealing with a subject as cutesy-fluff as bear-bees. I mean seriously, they're flying, plushie teddy bears that speak in high pitched voices. How do you make that serious or less silly? And so we're making it out Kimi's emo-phase, which frankly, we are long overdue for leaving. I don't necessarily want to heap on the melodrama with my OC, but I was really trying to give a somewhat realistic portrayal of how someone might behaved waking up in a foreign place, surrounded by strangers and even stranger creatures and being told she can't go home.

Footnote time. And seriously people, please read these and feel free to answer any questions I might have in them. I hate to admit it, but these footnotes are more for me than you, because I have no beta (still looking for one please) and I'm sort of on my own in this. If I get stuck or have difficulty recalling some aspect of the series, I really need someone to be so kind as to enlighten me. If it's not too much trouble, that is. I understand that the chapter is somewhat long and the footnotes are scattered throughout, but if you are willing to go back and see the footnotes now that you are finished, I would really appreciate some answers to my questions.

One (**1**). What is the story behind Yuuri's father Shoma (Shouma?) I mean, is he an Earth born demon, with parents born on Earth, a demon born on Earth with parents from Shin Makoku, or was he born on Shin Makoku and came to Earth at some point. I can't really recall.

Two (**2**). I really would like to know this one. When addressing Yuuri as a father as she does from time to time, does she call him Papa Yuuri, or Daddy Yuuri, or Father Yuuri? Does she alternate between the three? I understand this is trivial to fuss over but I really want to get the character's mannerisms and they way they act or talk right.

Three (**3**). Most of you probably don't need me explaining this, but the traditional method of proposal used by Shin Makoku nobles is to slap your intended's left cheek and if they offer their right cheek, it is a sign that the proposal is accepted. While Yuuri refrained from punching Wolfram (because, as he explained, he didn't want to hurt a beautiful face), he did slap Wolfram hard enough that his face turned to the side from the force of impact, technically offering his right cheek and accepting the proposal.

Four (**4**). Anyone know what the colors of the flowers named after Yuuri and Wolfram are? I wanted to actually put that down in the details of the flower crown, but couldn't remember for the life of me just what the colors are. I want to say Wolfram's had yellow in it.

Five (**5**). The place Greta's friend Beatrice is from, Cavalcade, _is_ part of human territory, right? I just want to be sure, but I had some difficulty finding out for myself.

That's all I have for now. Thanks for hanging in there with me so far. I'll try to get the next chapter out sooner.

R and R please. Feedback welcome, constructive criticism greatly needed and appreciated.

Till next time!

~ Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland


	7. Chapter 6: Settling In

I have heard before that I do not need to put a disclaimer at the beginning of each chapter, but I really don't want to take risks so here we are again: I do not own KKM, Tomo Takabayashi owns the series, both in print and animation.

Now the last chapter of this story was posted right around Thanksgiving break, so I did not expect much in the way of views and critiques as most people would be preoccupied with more important things like spending time with family and friends and Black Friday shopping. I imagine by the time the holiday festivities are over my story will have dropped to the bottom of page one in the KKM updates and will probably be less noticeable there. I was hoping that getting this next chapter up as soon as possible after the winter holidays are over would bring in more readers this time around, but as you can all see I failed to get this out within a reasonable time limit. I am terribly sorry about all that. I got a horrible case of writers block and became very distracted by immersing myself in actually submitting old works of mine to deviantart, and suddenly found myself quite preoccupied with that. No excuse, I know, I really should have tried harder to get this chapter out.

**Chapter Six**

**Settling In**

And exhausted and weary Yuuri was just entering the royal bedchamber when the sound of hurried footsteps altered him to someone rounding the corner and into the room after him. He didn't need to turn around to know he would find an equally tired and bathrobe clad Wolfram panting in the doorway.

"They found her?"

Yuuri nodded, "Yeah, just a little while ago, actually. I sent one of the guards to find you as soon as we found her. Didn't he find you?"

"I met with the guard," Wolfram admitted. He crossed the and shrugged off his robe to hang up in the armoire before going to the bed, stepping out of his slippers as he climbed onto the mattress. "I just wanted to hear it from you. I wanted to be sure before I stopped looking," he looked at Yuuri with tired eyes, "And she was there this whole time?"

"Yeah," Yuuri replied with a slight sigh, "she was. I don't think she meant to scare us."

"Half the time you do something that scares the heck out of us, you don't mean to either," Wolfram quipped, "You were being a thoughtless wimp of a King."

"Hey!"

"But of course," Wolfram continued, "I suppose I shouldn't be surprised how much Greta takes after you sometimes, she is your daughter."

After visiting with the bear-bees, dinner had gone off without a hitch. The meal had been a simple creamed soup of one of the vegetables from the garden that was similarly related to the Earth potato, apparently requested by Murata to ease Kimi into Shin Makoku's cuisine. Regardless of the reason, the meal was well received. As promised, Gisela had attended dinner with everyone in the main hall, allowing Kimi to join the others for a peaceful meal without Gisela having to worry about letting the girl out of her sight just yet. Without the meddling and overly zealous presence of Lady Celi dinner was a quiet affair. It probably wouldn't be beneficial for Kimi to find herself on the receiving end of a full bosomed hug while she was still recovering. The table was also one out of their mind redhead short that night. Anissina was not obligated to attend family meals with the Maou and often chose to eat in her lab in favor of focusing more on her blueprints and inventions. Thankfully this was one of those nights and she did not make an appearance. Unfortunately, one never knew if that was a good thing with Anissina. News of their latest visitor from Earth had surely reached her by now and that fact that she would make herself scarce instead of immediately appearing to badger Kimi with questions about Earth invention was rather concerning. It could mean a number of things, the worse being that she was already working on some new invention to "help" their new arrival that would inevitably cause mass damage to the castle…again.

Thoughts of mad inventors and meddling former Queens aside, dinner had been an enjoyable affair for the group and a rather peaceful, amiable way to bring a somewhat hectic day to a close. It wasn't long before everyone was biding each other good night's sleep and turning in for the night. After escorting Gisela and Kimi back to the hospital wing with assurances to the latter that they would see her for breakfast in the morning, Yuuri and Wolfram accompanied Greta back to her room for a quick story and a hug and a kiss before retiring to their own room. Unfortunately, what should have been a decent sleep for the pair was interrupted in the dead of night by the rapping of one of the guards on their door informing them that their daughter had apparently vanished from her room.

As was protocol with all the guards in the castle, the pair stationed outside of Greta's room had left their post to be replaced by a set of well rested guards, to ensure there would be no sleeping on the job. From what Yuuri and Wolfram understood, the guards instructed to replace the first pair were a bit late and the tired uniformed lookouts fell asleep during the wait. When the replacement guards showed up to take their post and stumbled upon the sleeping pair, they had checked upon the princess to ensure nothing had happened to her in the lapse of security, only to discover Greta wasn't there.

Everyone had rolled themselves out of bed and begun a search of the castle and the surrounding area, Yuuri and Wolfram going off in separate groups to cover more ground while searching Greta's most common hiding places. Gisela had conducted a thorough but quiet search of the medic ward while Kimi slept, having opted to let the girl rest, before sneaking out into the hall to search with his Majesty. Not ruling out the possibility of a kidnapping, Conrad himself had gone down to the stables and to check with the guards at the front gate to ensure no one had come through in the past few hours, coming or going, on horse or on foot. When efforts became fruitless, the search parties began checking the same places twice to ensure they hadn't missed anything. It was when Gisela returned to the medic ward with Yuuri to make sure nothing had been overlook, that she happened to get a closer look at Kimi's prone form under the covers of her bed and the strikingly familiar strands of red curls peeking out from under them. Upon pulling back the blankets Gisela and Yuuri were relieved to find the princess, curled up quite comfortably at Kimi's side, her head tucked up under the older girl's chin as Kimi cradle her in her sleep much like one would a favorite stuffed animal.

After deciding that Greta was safe enough staying in the medic ward with Gisela and Kim for the night and seeing as how it would be a shame to wake her, Yuuri had sent word to Wolfram through a nearby guard and returned to the royal bedchamber with hopes of getting another few hours of undisturbed sleep before morning came, beating Wolfram to the room by only a few minutes.

"I hope you know," Wolfram said as he climbed into bed, "that Greta is going to get an earful from me in the morning." He twisted around to fluff his pillow. "Sneaking off like that, sending everyone into a panic, waking us up so late at night." He gave his pillow one last good squeeze before slamming it back into place. "She can't be so impulsive and irresponsible."

Yuuri climbed into bed next to Wolfram with a sigh. "I think she just wanted to keep Kimi company," he insisted with a yawn, "She seems to have it in her head that the medic ward is this cold, and lonely, scary place at night. Greta was only trying to look out for a friend."

Wolfram huffed. "She bonds to easily with strangers," he said, "she thinks that anyone who spins a sad, sad story and has a kind looking face is instantly non-threatening and a new friend." He pulled the blankets up around his waist and tucked the corners into the underside of the mattress. "Just like, a certain naïve and gullible wimp we all know," he added, glancing at Yuuri from the corner of his eye.

Yuuri rolled his eyes, "Admit it, you just look for excuses to insult me," he mumbled, "Anyway there is nothing wrong with Greta being friends with Kimi. She's on our side, remember? Fate has dictated it or something."

"I have no doubt," Wolfram stated, "that Greta would have befriended Kimi even if she wasn't sent to us by the prophecy. Let's face it, Greta knows _nothing_ about Kimi other than the bare few facts we ourselves have gathered. She likes Kimi for the sole fact that she is another girl to play with; and so far Kimi seems to only be humoring Greta's enthusiasm because Greta is younger. For all we know they could have very little in common."

Wolfram rolled his shoulders and rubbed his next, attempting to work a comfortable spot into the mattress for himself. "I am not treating this girl like an enemy because you do not wish me too and because I can generally understand how she must feel being somewhere strange and new; I remember how I felt when I first went to Earth. But prophecy or not, it would be unreasonable to expect us to accept her over night and make her a trusted ally. She is still a stranger to us. She may be a guess, but that doesn't automatically make her a friend, not yet anyway. She has to earn our trust first and I know Gwendal and Conrad feel the same. Now if only Greta would approach this cautiously too." He shook his head and sighed, "I understand that isn't always easy as a royal to make genuine friends who aren't after your social status, and I get that as far as finding actual friendly female faces among the nobility is few and far between, but Greta is too eager, too trusting when she does find another girl to talk to. What if Kimi had just been a random visitor from a noble house, or an opposing country, sent here to gather information. As long as she slapped on a smile and spun a tale of her hardships, Greta would have been like putty in her hands, desiring a new friend and viewing it a chance to help a 'poor unfortunate soul' (A.N. love that song!)." He turned to Yuuri, "Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't that how you've been led into traps on more than one occasion?"

"Wolfram," Yuuri exasperated, "That's not—,"

"_Saralegui__,"_ Wolfram reminded him knowingly.

"That wasn't my fault! He was a very convincing actor!" Yuuri exclaimed, "I mean, he took an arrow in the back just to get my complete trust. Anyone would have fallen for that."

Wolfram snorted.

"Besides," Yuuri continued on, a little softer, "I honestly believe there is some good in Saralegui."

"You do, do you?" Wolfram tried to keep his expression neutral, but twitching of his eyebrows gave away the battle he was fighting in an effort to keep from scowling. He rolled over suddenly and pulled the blankets up over his head, "Good night."

"Ah, come on, Wolfram," Yuuri chided, "Don't be like that."

Wolfram remained silent.

"Wolfram," Yuuri tried again, "Wolfe, Wolfram. Wolfraaaam." He poked the unmoving lump under the covers but got no response. He tried to tug up the edge of the blankets to peer under at the blonde, and nearly got an elbow in the eye for his efforts. "Come on Wolf, are you really going to stay mad at me a second night in a row? All because I said Saralegui was good?"

The lump of blankets shifted around into a tight ball as Wolfram rolled onto his stomach and tucked his knees and arms up under himself. The front of the blankets billowed out as he let out a large exhale of air. "I hardly think it is appropriate for my fiancé to be paying compliments to those who are not his betrothed."

"I wasn't paying him a compliment," Yuuri protested, still attempting to get a good look at his fuming, hiding fiance, "I was just saying that the guy can't be all bad."

Wolfram just 'hmphed', the blanket ball curling up a little more.

"Wolf," Yuuri sank into the mattress and lied down on his side up next to the pouting mass of blankets, his finger tapping out a staccato rhythm over the spot he assumed Wolfram's head might be as he continued to try and poke Wolfram into coming out. "You know I don't like to think badly of others. Surely everyone has some good in them somewhere, no matter who they are. Yes, Saralegui lied to us—,"

"-to you."

"And used us—,"

"just you."

"_But_," Yuuri pressed on, sending a glare the interrupting blonde's direction, "but he did what he did for his kingdom; because harnessing the power of the demon king would have helped him separate his country from the oppression of Big Cimaron. A guy that's that willing to go to the extremes for his people can't be all bad."

"He didn't want to break free from Big Cimaron," Wolfram cried, flinging off the covers and sitting up, "he wanted to rule Big Cimaron. And Shin Makoku too. He wanted to build up a-a super powered force so that he could take over as many kingdoms and empires as he wanted until there was nothing left! Am I the only who can see that?" he asked indignantly. "And if he would try and steal you away just to get his way, well then I have every right to not trust him. And I refused to find any good in him."

Yuuri's eyebrows knit together in bewilderment. "Steal me away from _who_?"

Wolfram faltered, a blush quickly rising to his face. He settled back into his pillows and crossed his arms over his chest, turning his head away in embarrassment. "From…from everyone," he said finally, nodding his head frantically as though trying to convince himself rather than Yuuri, "he'd be stealing you away from everybody here. Greta, Gwendal, (_me_), Conrad," he slipped himself in the list as casually as he could, trying to appear nonchalant, "Mother is certainly fond of you and Günter would inevitably be inconsolably aggrieved if he ever lost you. And I suppose the Great Sage would have some objections, and you can't forget Yozak. The whole castle relies on you, we would be lost if you ever left or were taken away," he said with finality. "Especially if you were stolen by some, girlish, deceitful, glasses wearing liar of a king like that untrustworthy Saralegui!"

Wolfram let out another 'hmphed' and rolled back over onto his side facing away from Yuuri.

"I told you, he isn't like that," Yuuri insisted.

Wolfram said nothing.

"Wolfram," Yuuri said, wiggling closer to the blonde to place a hand on his shoulder, "You know you have nothing to worry about, right? I'd never go off and leave everyone like that."

Wolfram turned over to face Yuuri, "you wouldn't leave me?" he asked softly.

"Especially not you," Yuuri assured him, "Wolfram, you're very important to me. I could never ask for a better friend." He grinned obliviously.

"Yeah, good friends," Wolfram muttered. "So just, to be clear," he propped himself up on one elbow, "you're saying you would never leave _me_ for _Saralegui?"_ he asked, poking Yuuri in the chest.

Yuuri scooted back away from Wolfram so that he would no longer be in his personal space, "um…yes?"

"Or for anyone else?" Wolfram persisted.

"T-that's right," Yuuri stammered.

"Ever? Not even in the unforeseeable future?"

"Yes already," Yuuri cried, "Wolfram, I promise you I will never abandon you like that for anyone. We've all been through too much together for me to do that. Okay?" He scratched his head in confusion. "Besides, how'd we even get so far off topic? I thought we were trying to have a conversation about Greta."

Wolfram studied Yuuri seriously for a moment. Suddenly his face cracked into a satisfied, almost innocent smile, "Okay, then!" He flopped happily back into bed and pulled the covers up under his chin, "Goodnight Yuuri."

"Uh…yeah," Yuuri said slowly, lying back and adjusting the blankets around him, "Night, Wolfram." He rolled over and stared off into the darkness. _'What just happened?'_ he wondered as his head sank comfortably into his pillow and he allowed himself to drift off to sleep.

Wolfram remained awake for a while, staring up at the canopy of the bed with a hopeful Cheshire cat grin on his face. _'Take __**that**__, Saralegui,'_ he thought before snuggling into his pillow and finally falling asleep, _'I still stand a better chance at winning Yuuri's heart than __**you**__.'_

**ThisIsALineOfTransition**

**ThisIsOneToo**

_******HereToo**  
_

The next morning found the group gathered around the dining room table enjoying a lovely breakfast as sunlight streamed through the large glass windows and bathed them in a warm glow. Kimi was once again joining them in what would hopefully be an ongoing thing for her. Having been given a clean bill of health for the time being, asides from her healing neck, she had been cleared by Gisela from having to continue staying in the medic ward and had been released into the care and guidance of Yuuri and his advisors, Gwendal and Günter.

At the moment, she was just finishing a plate of cut fruits soaked in thick syrup so sugary sweet it was hard to think of it as a breakfast item and not a dessert.

Yuuri smiled over the top of his glass of juice. Kimi seemed to be feeling better that morning than she had the day before. It was a good sign if they were to expect her to stay with them indefinitely. Yuuri put down his glass and scooped up another bite of fruit onto his fork, nodding and murmuring to Greta who was avidly chatting away between bites of a danish.

As the remains of the fruit and pastries were cleared away, the maids brought out an assortment of sausages and ham slices and eggs with fried diced potatoes and hash (A.N. as in corn beef hash, Royalty does not get high…before lunch).

"Cinnamon and brown sugar porridge, for you milady," one of the maids said as she set down a bowl in front of Kimi.

"Oh," Kimi said with a start, still not quite used to such luxurious treatment, "Thank you, uh…"

"Sangria," Greta supplied, flaky bits of cheese Danish stuck to her face, which Wolfram tutted about and handed Yuuri a napkin to wipe it off with.

"Right," Kimi nodded, "Thank you, Sangria."

Sangria smiled warmly at her. "Your quite welcome, Miss." She curtsied once and headed part to the cart to dole out the rest of the plates.

"So, Kimi," Yuuri said, "How do you like the food here so far?"

Kimi swallowed a mouthful of porridge before answering. "It's been pretty tasty," she replied, wiping at the corners of her mouth with her napkin, "Gisela wants me to try and stay away from solid food until my throat is less sore so I haven't been able to try too much of a selection yet but I like what I've had so far." She looked down at her bowl of porridge and stirred it around some with her spoon. "To be honest I don't do the whole 'balanced breakfast' thing at home. What with school and mom and dad always needing to get to work early, we don't do the big sit down with a cooked meal in the morning. We usually just did bagels and cold cereal."

"How unfortunate," Günter lamented, "A hearty breakfast is the most important meal of the day." Normally he would have added that any meal with Yuuri Heika was an important meal, but a quick glance at Gwendal had him reconsidering.

"Oh no, it's not that big a deal," Kimi insisted. "I actually like a simple breakfast, I don't have time for anything else with school. Besides, mom always makes sure to keep a book of Chocolate Sugar Honey Clusters around the house."

"Chocolate Sugar whats?" Wolfram asked.

"Sugar Honey Clusters," Kimi explained, "My favorite cereal. I have it every day back home."

"Sounds unhealthy," Murata mused with a smile, the Great Sage once again choosing to stay at the castle for another day, probably a giant relief to the Temple Maidens and not so much one to Ulrike.

"Very," Kimi agreed. "I love it though, can't get enough of the stuff. And it's a nice quick meal. I can just scarf it down and rush off to school." She laughed, "though mom usually gets mad at me for leaving a milk filled dish in the sink," she said rubbing the back of her neck, "She absolutely hates that."

Yuuri and the others (except Gwendal) laughed as well. "Well then, I'm sorry we don't have any of that cereal around the castle."

Kimi shook her head, "Oh no it's fine. This is great. It really is very delicious," she called out to the maids.

Sangria and the other maids paused on their way back to the kitchen. "Thank you, Miss," they said, curtsying.

"That's going to take some getting used to," Kimi said after Sangria and the rest of the maids had left.

Conrad chuckled, "You're not alone, I feel a little unused to such treatment from time to time when I report back from duty, not being a noble like my brothers are."

"I've been meaning to ask you about that," Kimi began, pointing her spoon at him, oblivious to Wolfram's mutterings of how uncouth it was. "If you don't mind, that is."

"Not at all," Conrad assured her, "what would you like to ask?"

Kimi put her spoon down and looked towards the ceiling, her face screwed up in thought as she pondered how to put into words just what she wanted to say. "Well, it's like this: you three are brother's right?" She gestured at Conrad, Gwendal and Wolfram.

"That is correct."

"Well, it's just that," Kimi tilted her head to the side, "you don't look anything alike. And your last names are all different."

"That's because we share the same mother, but have different fathers," Conrad replied.

"Our mother has been married three times," Gwendal admitted begrudgingly.

Kimi blinked. "Oh…well, you just said you weren't a noble like your brothers, Conrad. Was your father a commoner? If that's okay to ask," she amended.

"Its fine," Conrad said, "and yes he was. My father was a human traveler and swordsman that our Mother fell in love with shortly after the end of her marriage to Gwendal's father."

"Wait, wait," Kimi said, "wasn't your mother like the demon Queen at some point? Didn't marrying someone so low below her status break some kind of rule or code of conduct or something? And if she was so in love with your dad, why did she marry Wolfram's father? Why'd she even divorce Gwendal's dad to begin with?"

"We find it less of a headache if we don't try to understand Mother's reasoning for anything she does," Gwendal muttered with a frown.

"Gwendal," Conrad admonished playfully. "Anyway, to answer some of your questions, Miss Kimi, Mother married my father knowing she was going against the wishes and beliefs of the court, but she did it anyway because she was in love and…well…"

"She didn't always uphold the teachings and discipline required of a monarch," Günter commented dryly, "as dedicated to her people as she was."

Conrad sighed, "Yes I suppose that's true," he admitted. "Now as for why my parent's marriage didn't last," he continued, turning back to Kimi, "I'm afraid Humans have shorter a lifespan than demons do, shorter than half demon's like myself have even, and our mother and my father went their separate ways at some point, not long before he died. Mother always held a special place for him in her heart, but the royal life was never for him."

"And she married my father because she is fickle," Wolfram stated, finishing up the last of his eggs.

"Wolfram," Yuuri scolded gently, "Don't talk about your mother that way." He looked at Kimi and laughed sheepishly, "Uh…Lady Celi has strong beliefs in, uh…_sharing_ her love with the world…"

"...she does what?" Kimi asked.

"She's believes in free love," Greta explained casually, oblivious to the mature meaning behind that statement, "She's on one of her Free love cruises right now, that's why she couldn't be here to meet you yet."

'_Sooooo,'_ Kimi thought, _'free love means…easy?'_ (1) "How, uh…nice for her," she said.

"Our mother is a bit eccentric in her lifestyle choices," Conrad explained, taking note of Kimi's discomfort of the subject, "but I honestly mean it when I say she is a kind, loving person who cared greatly for her Kingdom when she was Queen, and still does now."

Greta hummed as she scooped up some eggs on her fork, "I think you'll really like her, Kimi," she said through a mouthful of scrambled eggs, much to the chagrin of Wolfram, "grandma Celi's really pretty and she always has the most amazing stories and gifts for us when she comes back from her cruises. I can't wait for you to meet her!"

"Just don't let her influence you," Wolfram muttered over the rim of his teacup.

Kimi looked up from blowing on a spoonful of porridge, "What was that," she asked.

"Nothing," Wolfram said, nonchalantly sipping his chamomile tea, "Just, take everything Mother says to you with a grain of salt. Her advice and guidance isn't the sort proper young ladies should be modeling themselves after," he said this part with a level stare directed at Greta, said daughter having the decency to look a bit guilty.

Yuuri cleared his thought awkwardly, "I think it's safe to say we don't have to worry about anything so…mature yet when it comes to any young lady here, right?"

The occupants of the dining room (sans Kimi) nodded in agreement. No one really needed someone as innocent as Greta, and presumably Kimi, acting anything like Lady Celi. That was behavior they fully intended to nip in the bud before it had a chance to start.

"Anyway," Greta said, sending a pout her parents' way, "Grandma Celi is great. She also has lots of time to spend with me when she visits and she loves having tea in the garden, and taking me on shopping trips into town with her, and-and she throws these great parties—,"

"Formal Balls," Günter corrected.

"Right," Greta nodded, "formal balls, whenever she visits. You should see it, Kimi," she threw her hands up in the air like she was holding the whole world in her hands, "She has the whole ballroom decorated with colorful streamers, and tapestries, and these big fancy glass ornaments that shine like sun-catchers when the lights from the chandeliers and candles hit them just right. And everyone comes in such beautiful outfits. Sometimes she has theme parties and everyone has to come in a mask."

"Lady Celi does throw some elaborate parties," Murata mused aloud, getting a nod of agreement from Yuuri and Wolfram.

"All of which were outrageously unnecessary," Gwendal muttered.

"And the music!" Greta exclaimed. She pushed back from the table and ran over to Kimi, tugging their girl up and out of her chair. "The music is so beautiful," she said, leading Kimi along in a sort of makeshift waltz, "the harps, the violins and flutes, people swaying around in the fanciest dresses and suits; it's all so wonderful. Beatrice and I would dance all around the room." They stopped and Greta looked up thoughtfully at Kimi. "Papa Wolfram never let me stay up too late for the parties in the past, but I think I am old enough this year to stay up past curfew just a few hours longer," she turned to Wolfram, "right Papa Wolf?" she asked.

Wolfram frowned, thinking it over. He glanced at Yuuri questioningly and after a moment of silence between them, he turned back their daughter. "I suppose so," he acquiesced.

"Yeah, alright!" Greta cheered, her arms held up like she scored a touchdown, "I hope we have a party soon," she added, dragging Kimi along in a more enthusiastic, uncoordinated dance across the floor.

"Ball, Princess," Günter corrected, "Formal ball."

"Greta, come back to the table," Wolfram called, "Breakfast isn't over yet and it's poor manners to dance at the table." He carefully picked up his saucer and brought his teacup to his lips for a polite, dignified sip. 'Besides, you'll upset your stomach moving around like that so soon after you eat."

"Oh," Greta dropped Kimi's hands and clasped her own in front of herself, grinning guiltily, "sorry Papa Wolf." She and Kimi quickly returned to their seats at the table, the legs of Greta's chair scraping against the floor as she scooted herself forward, causing everyone to wince.

"Now your Majesty," Gwendal said, redirecting the conversation to more pressing matters, "We were all given a small reprieve from our responsibilities yesterday, but the Kingdom must be run and as we cannot afford to lose another day, I expect you in the office promptly after lunch today."

"After lunch?" Yuuri groaned, his spoon stilling on the way to his mouth.

Gwendal nodded, "The paperwork is beginning to pile up and there are some pressing matters that must be attended to."

"There's always a pressing matter in Shin Makoku." Yuuri complained.

Gwendal nodded. "Correct, as is the cost of running a country. That is why we cannot have the leisure of continuous breaks and days off."

"Though Yuuri often gets them anyway," Greta whispered conspiratorially.

Wolfram tried to disguise his smirk into a frown of disapproval, "Wimp."

Yuuri sighed, shoulders sagging. "Ah well," he said, "At least it's after lunch and not breakfast."

"Actually, Heika," Günter interjected, "You'll be attending your lessons with me after breakfast today."

"What?" Yuuri groaned, slumping down onto the table in a most, as Wolfram would call it, improper way. "Not another history and etiquette lesson."

'Quite right," Günter said, "His Majesty has been excelling in our lessons quite magnificently." Gunter smiled proudly, pleased that his tutelage was having such a profoundly positive effect on Yuuri. "Today we will be having another review session to test what you've learned so far. I simply can't wait to see the progress my Heika has made!"

Yuuri sat there dismaying his fate with a look of utter defeat on his face. Wolfram smirked at him while Greta patted her black haired father on the back in an attempt to console him.

Kimi watched the scene with fond amusement. She ducked her head down like she was focused on her plate and snickered to herself.

"Oh, that reminds me," Günter caught Kimi's attention and turned to her with a smile. "Miss Kimi, it can't possibly be that entertaining sitting around in the Medical ward all day. I know you and Gisela have probably had loads to talk about and bond over in the past day or so that you have come to know each other, but I would assume she has quite a bit of distracting work to do," he counted off on his fingers, "reorganizing the medicine cabinets, taking inventory, mixing up the herbal treatments, rearranging the bandages and salves in the storage room, she's probably to busy to occupy your time for very long. And I imagine staring at the medical wing walls all day must get boring after a time."

Günter clapped his hands together and rubbed them in what would have seemed a sinister way if the flaky, hyper man hand a malevolent bone in his body (though who could say after all that time he spent in the clutches of Anissina and under the influence of Celi), "therefore I am extending the invitation to you to attend my lesson with Yuuri Heika."

"Uh," Kimi stared at him in confusion, "Lesson? You mean like school?"

"Yes, of course," Günter replied, still looking quite pleased with his idea. "One can never have too much of a good education. It is my understanding that on Earth, children are under rigorous training in many subjects at least five days a week if not more."

"He told you that, huh," Kimi shot Yuuri a glare, that the young king had the decency to look apologetic for.

Günter nodded vigorously.

Kimi awkwardly looked around to just about anywhere but Günter smiling face. "Listen," she said, "I appreciated the offer, but…I think I would just be better off sitting this one out. History isn't really my thing."

"Oh, but I insist," Günter persisted adamantly, "this could be quite beneficial to your stay here. I can better help you understand our culture and ways of life; all that has made Shin Makoku what it is and more!" He gestured for one of the maids to come and take his plate away. "Gwendal and I have already arranged for you to take several various sessions with me and other intellectual and skilled residents of the castle over the course of your stay, but there is no reason you shouldn't get a head start on your some of your tutelage with me. The sooner the better, even."

"Um…that's uh…well," Kimi stammered.

"You'll love it," Günter pushed back from the table as everyone's remaining dishes were cleared away. "There is no time like the present to strengthen one's mind." He clapped his hands again. "Let's get a move on then. Ah," he held his hands out towards the door with a sweeping gesture, "after you, your Majesty," he addressed Yuuri.

Yuuri sighed as he stood up from his chair, directing a sympathetic look at Kimi, "you might as well come on," he said apologetically, "there's no stopping Günter once he gets like this."

Murata smirked, "Yuuri knows best from anyone. There's no escaping Günter."

"But…I," Kimi tried to think of something to say, but came up a blank. "Fine," she sighed, sinking down into her chair in a slouch, "if I have to…"

"That's the spirit," Günter exclaimed, grabbing Kimi by the wrist and pulling her from her chair with little effort, "first lesson: proper posture is a must. You should never slouch. Oh what fun this will be! A new pupil, how exciting!" Without further ado, he swept out of the room in a flurry of lavender hair and white robes, Kimi and Yuuri in tow, the latter giving a curt nod to the servants who bowed as was custom when the monarch leaves or enters the room.

"Have fun, Shibuya," Murata called cheerily.

"Can it, Murata!" Yuuri yelled aback distractedly as Gunter dragged him and Kimi out of sight.

The remaining occupants of the table stare after them for a moment then began to stand and politely excuse themselves to go attend to their own responsibilities. Gwendal strongly suggested that Murata return to the temple to assure Ulrike that their guest was settling in nicely and promptly escorted the reluctant Sage out the door to have a carriage prepared for him.

"I don't have my lessons with Günter until later in the afternoon," Greta told Wolfram, hoping down from her chair and pushing her chair in, even as the maids moved forward to do it for her, "I should probably enjoy my freedom before then, huh?" she teased.

"Exactly," Wolfram agreed standing and adjusting the creases in his uniform with the dignified air of a soldier. "Günter has a tendency to hold your lessons longer than is planned as it is. I myself must return to running drills with my men. I'm sure they enjoyed yesterday's break, but it is time to return to work. It never bodes well to break away from a practiced regime and routine." He adjusted his belt and fixed the angle at which the sheath to his sword was placed.

Conrad smiled. "Don't go to hard on them, Wolfram," he said.

Wolfram huffed, "I hardly believe it is any of your business, Lord Weller, but they're my men to do with as I please." He bowed curtly to his brother, and then he and Greta exited the dining hall together, the doors swinging closed behind them.

**ThisIsALineOfTransition**

**ThisIsOneToo**

**HereToo**

"Now when greeting a Dignitary of that particular region, one must stand upright with the sides of their heels pressed firmly together and the tips of the shoes splayed slightly away from one another," Gunter wandered about the room animatedly, a large, rather heavy looking tome balanced with surprising ease in the cradle of one of his arms as the other hand waved freely about him, gesturing with no particular purpose other than to the rhythm of what he was saying.

Yuuri sat at the table in front of another dusty tome with his head resting in his hand, his eyes bored and heavy as he let out a sigh. Across the table, Kimi was doing no better. The young girl had original set out to occupy her time with doodling crude little stick figures with the quill and parchment she had been provided with at the start of the lesson, but her interest in mastering the use of the quill had quickly waned and she was now sinking lower and lower into her chair as time went on, her eyes closed and a small string of drool tickling from the corner of her mouth, her quill forgotten and steadily leaving a blotchy stain across the parchment from where it had fallen from her hand..

Gunter meanwhile continued to prattle on."Then you must execute a proper bow, bending at the waist with your right hand position just to the left of the center of your chest; it is very important to use your right hand, do not forget that. Then, you offer that same hand, once again very important which one, in an offering of a handshake." He extended his hand out in front of him to an imaginary person, "and grip them…" he paused and looked around before grabbing hold of Kimi's hand by the wrist, oblivious to the girls slow departure into the world of slumber, "like so, firmly at the wrist, letting them do the same," he adjusted Kimi's fingers to wrap, albeit loosely around his own wrist before moving their conjoined limbs in an exaggerated handshake, jostling Kimi awake with a loud snort, "And there you have it." He looked down on Kimi with a fond smile as he released her hand. "You may wish to write this down, my dear," he said to her, "you can't afford to lose any of this information."

Kimi wiped the drool from her mouth and sniffed, sitting up in her chair, "Uh, yeah," she stammered, running her quill over the ink blotched parchment in front of her absentmindedly, "the hand thing. Very important, got it."

Yuuri snorted out a laugh, earning a glare from Kimi and prompting him to clap a hand over his mouth to hide his smile.

"I'm pleased that you are enjoying today's lesson so much Your Majesty," Gunter beamed at his king upon hearing his laughter. "Yes today's lesson is quite a riveting one indeed! With this information our wonderful, Gracious Heika will be sure to impress and beguile even the most reserved and unfavorable dignitary of the farthest reaches of the land," He swept his hand out to gesture at the large window overlooking the vast hills and towns beyond the castle walls, the flowing fabric of his clothes making a soft swooshing as they whipped through the air.

"Ah, but we haven't forgotten about you, dear," Gunter said as he turned back to Kimi, prodding her out of her seat and moving her to a clear space on the floor uncluttered with books. He tugged Yuuri to the center of the room as well before turning his attention back to the young girl. "As," he began, patting her back until she stood up straight, "a guest of the Royal family," he kneeled down behind her and adjusted her legs and pressed her heels tight together, "you will be…expected," he came around to her front and wedged the toe of his shoe between her feet to push the tips of her shoes away from one another, "expected to carry yourself with an air of regal dignity. Now as far as anyone outside the castle is concerned, you—pardon me Your Majesty—" he apologized as he paused to adjust Yuuri's posture to mimic the same as Kimi's, "there we go. As I was saying, you," he pointed at Kimi, "are a distant relative of the noble house of von Voltaire; that's Gwendal's family," he reminded her, "that's the story as far as anyone needs to know. We hardly want the masses overwhelming you with their excitement at another double black." He gave her back another little pat as she began to slouch.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask about that," Kimi said, "what's with all this 'double black' talk? I've heard it at least twice now, I think. What's it all about and why is it such a big deal?"

"It's about your hair," Yuuri explained, as Gunter adjusted his posture, "and your eyes. They're both black like mine. It may be common over on Earth, especially in Japan, but here black is a sign of high nobility and Royalty. Having black hair and eyes around here is automatic celebrity status."

"A double black is a highly respected trait," Gunter added, correcting her poor posture yet again, "Only his Highness and the Great Sage bear such traits in our kingdom. And I don't believe a citizen of our country has ever seen a double black woman. You would create quite a stir at social gatherings. Not to worry though, you will be properly concealed when such a time comes.

"Wait, concealed?" Kimi exclaimed, "you're not going to like, hide me away in some tower or something are you?"

Gunter laughed, "Oh nothing of the sort, I assure you. We would simply dye your hair and his Majesty has brought over a variety of colored contacts from Earth for just such an occasion."

"I have to go incognito a lot," Yuuri explained.

"Now, just bend forward like so," Gunter pressed his hand to Kimi's pelvis and with his other hand at her upper back, he guided her into a proper bow. "Now Your Majesty, if you would please do the same. There!" He clapped his hands together, "you've both properly executed the bow, now you stand back up and offer your hand—right hand, Miss Kim," he gently admonished, "right hand, the same one you held to your chest during the bow."

Kimi quickly righted herself and held out her right hand.

"Excellent," Gunter praised, "now you and his Majesty, grip each other at the wrist," he adjusted their placement, "like so and shake your hand in greeting….perfect! And that's how it's done. Any questions?"

"If we say yes, you'll make us repeat the whole thing again, won't you?" Kimi asked.

"Of course!" Gunter chirped merrily, "practice makes perfect."

"Then we're fine!" Yuuri cut in, "we've got it down solid."

Gunter's smile was near blinding as he turned to his king, "I wouldn't expect our Glorious Heika to have any trouble learning such formalities. For someone with such brilliance and intelligence radiating behind their eyes as you do your Majesty, these customs should be a cinch to master." He hurled himself forward and wrapped Yuuri up in his arms tightly. Just because he was going to tone down his eccentric doting for Gwendal's sake didn't mean he couldn't coo over their adorable ruler when he wasn't around (would he really be the Gunter we know and love if he quit cold turkey?). "His Majesty is so astute and quick! It is always an honor to teach such a clever student."

"Gunter!" Yuuri's voice was muffled against a mouthful of fabric as the enthusiastic man unintentionally crushed his head against his chest, "Personal space, remember? We've talked about this!" He successfully managed to detangle himself from Gunter's grip and stumbled back a few feet, his hands held up warily in front of him to fend off any other suffocating affection Gunter might wish to bestow upon him.

Kimi was trying and failing to hide her amusement with a few forced coughs into her hand, looking anywhere but at the flustered king and his exuberant advisor.

Yuuri fixed her with an annoyed glare before a sneaky grin came over his face. "It's great to know that tutoring me means so much to Gunter," he began, "I know I couldn't think of a better teacher."

"Your Majesty!" Gunter cried, throwing his arms out wide in elation at Yuuri's praise.

"—But," Yuuri cut continued, a hand held in front of him to halt Gunter's next attempt at embracing him, "aren't today's lessons technically more for Kimi's benefit than anything else?"

Kimi's smile disappeared so fast it practically fell off her face. It was quickly replaced with a frown. "H-hey! Wait a minute—!"

"Oh Shinou!" Gunter exclaimed, "You're absolutely right!" He leapt forward and cradled Kimi's face between his hands, the girl not having been quick enough to side step him or back away in time. Squeezing her face like an overbearing aunt would to the niece or nephew unfortunate enough to not evade her grasp, Gunter fawned over his newest pupil. "How could anyone possibly forget our guest? It is truly a privileged for me to teach yet another bright mind from Heika's fascinating native land. Yes it is," he said, nodding vigorously and shaking Kimi's head up and down in agreement, the girl beginning to resemble a fish wither cheeks squished and her lips pursed together between his hands. She gave Yuuri a look that clearly read _'you traitor'_.

Gunter released Kimi's head only drape an arm over her shoulder and urge her to the window. "You'll grow to love our kingdom during your stay here, Miss Kim," he said dreamily. "Shin Makoku has so much to offer; our inspiring history, the enriching culture, and our remarkable society. There's so much to learn, so much for me to teach you." Gunter cloistered Kimi closer to the window, encouraging the reluctance girl to lean against the sill. "Take a deep breath, my dear," he said, inhaling deeply, "That is the smell of discovery. That is the scent of uncovered knowledge. That, my girl, is the sensational aroma of—,"

"ENGIWARU!" A large blur of blue feathers shot abruptly past the windows at an angle and ascended rapidly into the sky.

"OH MY GOD!" Kimi shrieked, ducking out from under Gunter's arm and backtracking away from the window so fast she almost fell over, "What the hell was that and why were we smelling for it?" She backed into the table and braced herself against it half slumped, her nails digging into the wood.

"Calm down," Yuuri soothed, moving towards her cautiously with a reassuring smile on his face. "That was just a Bad Omen bird," he explained, leading her back towards one of the other windows for a better look.

"Bad omen?" Kimi asked worriedly, edging hesitantly towards the window. She peeked cautiously outside and peered up at the large bird now making lazy circles the sky, its sapphire feather and orange tail shinning bright and glossy in the sunlight. The only thing shinier than the creature's feathery body was the gleaming of the sun off its large bald head. The peculiar thing would be almost beautiful…if not for when it opened its mouth to release a loud, horrid squawk, "Engiwaru!'

"Don't worry," Yuuri said, "It's really just a name." '_I think_,' he thought to himself. "We just call them that because it's really all they can say; 'Engiwaru', 'Bad Omen.' I almost can't believe you hadn't seen one before now; they're pretty noticeable. Their sound may be annoying, but they're really quite harmless. Right, Gunter?" He was met with silence, "Gunter?"

"Oh no," Gunter still stood stiff at the other window, hands gripping the windowsill in a panic and his eyes transfixed to the big bird flying overhead as several others joined it. "Oh no, oh no, oh no!" Gunter shook his head this way and that, "Bad omen, bad, bad omen!" He pushed back from the window and scurried over to one of the haphazardly splayed piles of books. "This is not good," he muttered to himself, sorting through the books and tomes distractedly.

Yuuri and Kimi watched on, one in amusement, the other in curious confusion. "Gunter sees himself as quite the soothsayer," Yuuri whispered, "or fortuneteller…or magician or something…I still haven't quite figured out what he hopes to accomplish with all the colored smokes and boiling vats and herbs and such. He takes the Bad Omen birds a bit more literally than the rest of us; seems to think they foretell some horrible happenings. Don't worry, they don't," he added as an afterthought at seeing the look of trepidation on Kimi's face. "Unless he finally snaps and starts singing that whole 'double bubble, toil and trouble' spiel, I don't think we should worry too much about it," he joked, giving Kimi a little nudge in the side with his elbow.

Kimi found herself laughing a bit at that, her earlier scare at the window seemingly forgotten.

"There must be something in here that I can use," Gunter continued to mutter frantically to himself. He scooped up a book and began to flip through the pages. "No…no," he murmured, "no…no…still no…not that one," he placed the book aside and picked up another, wandering around with his nose buried in the dusty, worn pages, "not that…no, that isn't right…maybe," he sighed and placed the book down on the table, "I'm truly sorry for the interruption Your Majesty, Miss Kim. I hate to cut our lesson short like this, but I really must attend to this. Perhaps we can reschedule…?" He trailed off and glanced around the now vacant room, "Your Majesty?" The only response was the sound of the door clicking shut. "Umm….Same time tomorrow then," he called out before turning back to his research.

"Finally," Yuuri breathed, sagging against the door in relief, "I was worried we'd never get out of there."

Across from him, Kimi was seating on the floor leaning against the wall, knees bent up against her chest. She draped an arm over one knee and stretched out the other leg along the floor. Rotating her foot in little circles, she tried to get the tingly 'foot's asleep' feeling to stop shooting up and down from her ankle to the back of her knee.

"Does he always talk so much?" Kimi asked with a groan, tipping her head back and thumping it against the wall, "he was beginning to bore me to death in there. I swear he's like an energizer bunny; he just keeps going and going and going. I didn't even think it was possible for a butt to fall asleep." She wiggled from side to side on her bottom and grimaced, "yep, definitely asleep."

Yuuri laughed, sliding down the door to sit in front of it, "Yeah I wanted to warn you about his lessons, but I never got the chance. But hey, at least that bird mixed things up a little."

"That bird just made it worst!" Kimi declared, waving her finger at Yuuri for emphasis, "the last thing I needed after being interrupted in my mid-class nap was to have the crap scared out of me!"

Yuuri only laughed harder, "Come on, it wasn't that bad. Like I said the birds are pretty interesting once you get used to them. And it provided us with the perfect way out of our lesson with Gunter."

"You've got a point there," Kimi said, standing up and stretching. She heard giggling coming from her left and spied some maids, the same ones who had served her breakfast that morning, wandering down the opposite end of the hall.

"Mm-hm," Yuuri agreed, closing his eyes and working the kinks out of his neck, "I'm actually afraid that Gunter's lessons wouldn't end if left alone. It seems like the only way to get out of them are when Gunter catches me sleeping and starts fretting over having 'exhausted me beyond my limitations', I slip out on my own, or there is a sudden emergency. More often than not, I have to slip out. Don't get me wrong; I'm all for a higher education, but Gunter doesn't really give you time to let anything sink in before he piles more facts on top of it. Well now that we're free, what do you want to do now, Kimi?" Yuuri opened his eyes and looked around, "Kimi?"

Turning slightly, he glimpsed Kimi standing by the other end of the hallway chatting with Doria, Sangria and Effe. The maids were giggling as they shifted around the laundry baskets they were carrying; placing one of the baskets in Kimi's outstretched hands. "See you later, Yuuri!" Kimi called as she adjusted the basket on her hip and began walking away with the maids.

"Uh…" Yuuri blinked, "later," he gave a feeble wave of his hand, not entirely sure what had just happened.

"I think Kimi prefers to hang out with girls around her own age," an amused voice called out to the right of him. Conrad was walking his way from the opposite end of the hall, "Or at least women who resemble human girls her own age."

"Conrad," Yuuri said, standing up to greet the brunette soldier.

"We never got to go for our daily jog this morning after staying up so late a second night in a row," Conrad reminded him, "Seeing as you usually escape from Gunter's lessons about this time, I thought you might like to fit a quick one in before Gunter and Gwendal start looking for you."

Yuuri nodded, smiling brightly, "Sounds good," he agreed. He went to head to his room to change and paused, "Do you think it is okay that we Kimi?"

"Sangria and the others tend to get into very little trouble on their own. It should be a nice peaceful change of pace for Kimi to spend some time with them. Better them than Anissina," he added.

Yuuri cringed, "Good point. Well if you are sure, let's go." The pair headed off to get ready for their jog, leaving Kimi to the care of the maids.

* * *

Sort of bleh for a chapter ending, I know but I wanted to try and give you a chapter sometime soon after dragging my feet so long on it and it would have taken me even longer to try and come up with a more interesting way to end this one.

Footnote time! It's going to be a short list this time, lucky you!

One (**1**). On Kimi's comment at breakfast about Celi's free love life style. To be perfectly clear, I do **NOT** think that a man or women being free with their body and having sex with multiple partners is a bad thing. Casual relationship and casual dating is not something to look down on as long as you are making it clear to your partner that you aren't looking for a long commitment and do not lead them on. Other than that, more power to you if you find yourself more comfortable with more casual sex. Kimi however, is young and a high schooler, surrounded by other teenagers. If anyone here remembers high school you should recall that there were plenty of classmates that were quick to call other classmates slut or cheap for even kissing someone else, even if the one pointing fingers and calling names was no longer a virgin themselves. Kids are catty and not the best influence when it comes to understand mature relationships and lifestyles. So this is how I figure a girl her age would perceive the way Celi behaves and be quite confused by it.

Hmm…that seems about it. Now once again, I do not have a beta and would greatly appreciate one. Until I get a beta, it would be nice if those reading my story could keep me updated on any errors I may have made in the chapters.

R and R please. Feedback welcome, constructive criticism greatly needed and appreciated.

Till next time!

~ Shain-The-Otaku-of-Ireland


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